2021 saw an alarming increase in traffic fatalities and an all-time high for pedestrian deaths. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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LSU and the Saints are home underdogs this weekend, which is rare for both teams not to be favorite at home. Jeff Palermo has more on the games in Baton Rouge and New Orleans and other matchups…
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972 people were killed in 2021 on Louisiana roads. That’s a 17-percent increase from 2020, according to the LSU Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation. Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Spokesperson Mark Lambert says the numbers are disturbing.
The 972 traffic deaths in 2021 are the most since 2007. And 174 of the traffic fatalities occurred on Louisiana interstates, an alarming increase of 49 percent from 2020.
In addition to an uptick in aggressive driving crashes, Lambert says the number of impaired fatal driving crashes increased a disturbing 32 percent.
Lambert says awareness campaigns like Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and Click It or Ticket, were paused during the pandemic and he believes it had an impact on the increase in traffic fatalities.
Another alarming statistic among the 2021 numbers is an all-time high of 185 pedestrian fatalities, that’s an increase of 27 percent from 2020. Lambert says if you are walking along a roadway, even in a neighborhood always walk against traffic not with it.
Cut 5 (09) “…against the traffic.”
The major cause of roadway deaths and injuries in Louisiana are distracted driving, impaired driving, and aggressive driving.
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Seven Louisiana schools have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools. The winning schools are located in Caddo, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Lafayette, St. Landry and St. Tammany parishes. State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says it’s exciting news…
Three Louisiana schools are recognized as “Exemplary High Performing.” They are the LSU Lab School and St. James Episcopal Day School in Baton Rouge and South Highlands Elementary Magnet School in Caddo Parish. Brumley was at South Highlands on Friday morning to celebrate the achievement with the student body…
Four of the schools are recognized as Exemplary Growth. They are Folsom Elementary in St. Tammany, Frasch Elementary in Calcasieu, Grand Prairie in St. Landry and Myrtle Place Elementary in Lafayette. Brumley says these schools showed progress in closing achievement gaps…
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An LSU student was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds this morning in her car near Baton Rouge’s downtown area. Baton Rouge Police Sergeant L’Jean (EL-jeen) McKneely says 21-year-old Allison Rice’s vehicle was found on Government Street near railroad tracks…
Rice was from Ascension Parish. She was a senior at LSU majoring in marketing. A Baton Rouge TV station say Rice was with friends at an establishment in the Mid City area of Baton Rouge. McKneely says their investigation is in its initial stages…
Cut 10 (10) “…we’re collecting”
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Three children were tragically killed in a Gretna house fire this morning. Jefferson Parish Sherriff Joe Lopinto says the 3, 7, and 15-year-old victims were all from the same family.
Cut 11 (11) “…to those injuries”
According to NOLA.com the 15-year female was babysitting her two younger brothers when the fire broke out. Firefighters reportedly found the 7-year-old boy inside the home at the bottom of the stairs on the first floor and the 15-year-old girl was found at the top of the stairs lying on top of her younger brother.
Lopinto says the department’s arson division is working with the Jefferson Parish Fire Services to investigate the cause of the blaze along with the State Fire Marshal’s Office. He says they do not suspect arson at this time, but the division is merely assisting and the cause of the blaze has not been determined.
Cut 12 (06) “.. .sad situation.”
The fire was reported at 9:31 AM in the 500 block of Lynnmeade Road and Lopinto says firefighters and sheriff’s deputies were on the scene at 9:35
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LSU is 2.5 a point underdog at home in tomorrow’s SEC opener against Mississippi State. Tigers Coach Brian Kelly says there’s a lot of talk about the Bulldogs Air Raid offense, but they are also good on defense…
The Bulldogs have only allowed 169 rushing yards in two games. LSU struggled to run the ball two weeks ago against Florida State, but running back John Emery returns on Saturday from academic suspension. The former five-star running back has not played since 2020 and Kelly says it’s good to get Emery back…