Legislation that would result in cameras to catch speeders on the I-10 Atachalfalya Basin Bridge between Baton Rouge and Lafayette continues to cruise through the legislative process. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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There’s new leadership at the State Fire Marshal’s Office and he brings decades of experience with him. Brooke Thorington has more.
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A single-car crash in Washington Parish claims two lives. Trooper William Huggins says the driver 31-year-old Pamela Brown and 16-year-old Jaquan Brown of Kentwood were both killed when a Hyundai veered off the road shortly after 11 pm Saturday.
Huggins says both were pronounced dead on the scene. In addition to the two victims, who were wearing their seatbelts, three juveniles in the back seat of the car were not restrained.
Huggins says this crash is one of the few exceptions in regards to seatbelt usage. He says statistically you are more likely to survive a crash if you are properly restrained.
Huggins says impairment is suspected in the crash and toxicology samples were collected.
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The House Transportation Committee voted today for Senate-approved legislation that would result in the installation of speed cameras on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says the cameras will track vehicles as they go over the 18-mile bridge and if they get across in less than 18 minutes the driver was likely speeding
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Senate President Page Cortez says the goal of his legislation is not to generate revenue from speeding ticket fines, but to make the bridge safer, which has seen injury-related crashes double over the last decade…
Supporters of the legislation say cameras would be a better way to catch speeders than actual police officers because the narrow shoulders on the bridge make it unsafe for officers. Rosepine Representative Charles Owen agrees…
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Former Saints quarterback Drew Brees was let go from his contract with NBC Sports after just one season in the broadcast booth, setting off a storm of speculation about his future with Brees even alluding to a possible return to football. Coach Dennis Allen doesn’t see a reason to take talk of a comeback seriously.
Brees was asked about a return to the Saints during last season as the team fought to make the playoffs but declined. Dennis Allen seems to be looking towards the future rather than hoping for a boost from the franchise’s greatest signal-caller.
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A new era at the State Fire Marshal’s Office is underway as Chief Dan Wallis takes the helm and former Chief Butch Browning becomes the next executive director of the National Association of State Fire Marshals. Wallis says while it’s an exciting time it’s also bittersweet to say goodbye to his friend Browning of more than thirty years.
Wallis, who served as Zachery Fire Chief for 28 years has been with the State Fire Marshal’s Office since 2008. He’s served as Browning’s righthand man, and he says he plans to expand on the values already set by his predecessor.
One of the first challenges Wallis plans to address is the growing decline of first responders and how to retain them once they’ve entered the profession.