KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, LouisianaUnrestrained driver dies in Jefferson Davis Parish crash

Unrestrained driver dies in Jefferson Davis Parish crash

Posted: Updated:
By Audra Harvey - email

  • More Local NewsLocal

  • Thursday, May 24 2012 7:13 AM EDT2012-05-24 11:13:31 GMT
    The man convicted of manslaughter outside a Sulphur strip club will face sentencing on May 23. David Nelson was on trial for punching 19-year-old Chad Heath outside of the Plantation strip club on April
    The man convicted of manslaughter outside a Sulphur strip club was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

  • Thursday, May 24 2012 5:02 AM EDT2012-05-24 09:02:36 GMT
    Development on the Lacassine Rail Loading Facility can finally begin. The Jeff Davis Police Jury awarded the low bid to a local contractor Wednesday, May 23. The low bid was awarded to C. Morvant Construction
    The construction bid for a grading room and sampling facility for the Lacassine high-speed rail loading facility has been awarded to a local contractor. 

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 11:35 PM EDT2012-05-24 03:35:26 GMT
    There are currently 88 inmates on Louisiana's death row, including two women. All were convicted in a court of law and are going through the appeals process before their time is up. In the last 10 years,
    There are currently 88 inmates on Louisiana's death row, including two women. All were convicted in a court of law and are going through the appeals process before their time is up. But the cost of that process, means fewer killers will end up on death row.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 7:12 PM EDT2012-05-23 23:12:42 GMT
    The trial of Jeremy Lee Brown continues today in Oberlin. He is the man accused of murdering his mother, Gretta Ellzey, and step father, Benjamin Ellzey. Today, another home health nurse testified that
    The trial of Jeremy Lee Brown continues today in Oberlin. He is the man accused of murdering his mother, Gretta Ellzey, and step father, Benjamin Ellzey.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 6:59 PM EDT2012-05-23 22:59:33 GMT
    Emergency responders and volunteers are participating in an all hazard drill at Lake Charles Civic Center. They are practicing how to assist various people from those with special needs to people with
    Emergency responders and volunteers are participating in an all hazard drill at Lake Charles Civic Center.  

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 4:37 PM EDT2012-05-23 20:37:25 GMT
    The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) will release 2012 spring testing results for the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP), the Integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (iLEAP),
    The Louisiana Department of Education released the 2012 spring testing results for the LEAP, iLEAP, and GEE during a press conference this afternoon.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 3:16 PM EDT2012-05-23 19:16:13 GMT
    The search is widening for a 22-year-old ULL student last seen early Saturday morning.  Mickey Shunick was last seen around 2 a.m. Saturday when she left on her bicycle to go home. Dedicated family and
    The search is widening for a 22-year-old ULL student last seen early Saturday morning. Dedicated family and friends are working round the clock to try to bring Shunick home safely.

     

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 2:55 PM EDT2012-05-23 18:55:34 GMT
    Pieces of the Governor's education reform plan are beginning to take effect. The voucher scholarship program which would allow students to leave failing schools to go to private schools has begun. Four
    Four schools have accepted the voucher scholarship program and will begin taking applications for students who qualify and come from a 'C', 'D' or 'F' school. 

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 11:39 AM EDT2012-05-23 15:39:49 GMT
    (Source: CPSO)
    The following is a Press Release from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office: On Tuesday May 22 at approximately 10:30 a.m. C.A.T Team Detective Sgt. Stuart Henderson stopped a vehicle on I-10 eastbound
    Viet Huna Nguyen, 31, of Marrero, LA was stopped on I-10 eastbound and charged with possession with the intent to distribute approximately 20 pounds of high grade marijuana known as "hydro".

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 10:59 AM EDT2012-05-23 14:59:33 GMT
    A crash Tuesday morning in Allen Parish claimed the lives of two teens from Ville Platte. State troopers say the teens died after a two-vehicle crash on Louisiana Highway 10 about a mile east of Oakdale
    A crash Tuesday morning in Allen Parish claimed the lives of two teens from Ville Platte.

The following is a news release from the Louisiana State Police:

Welsh, LA – This morning, at approximately 5:05 a.m., troopers assigned to Louisiana State Police Troop D responded to single-vehicle crash on Louisiana Highway 99 about 7 miles south of Welsh that claimed the life of a Texas man.

Investigating troopers report that a 2012 Chevrolet pick-up truck driven by 54-year-old Gilbert G. Talafuse, Jr. of Houston, TX was traveling south on LA 99 when the vehicle he was driving ran off the road and traveled over 160 feet before striking a mail box, then traveled over 350 additional feet before striking a concrete driveway on the other side of the highway.

Talafuse sustained fatal injuries as a result of the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Jefferson Davis Parish Coroner's Office.  

Excessive speed and driver impairment are suspected to be factors in the crash.  A toxicology sample was obtained from Talafuse and will be submitted to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab for analysis.  The crash remains under investigation.

In 2011, half of all deaths in fatal crashes investigated by Troop D involved an impaired driver.  Statewide in 2010, 59 percent of vehicle occupants who died in car crashes were not wearing a seat belt.  Louisiana state law requires all vehicle occupants to wear a seat belt.  Wearing a seat belt is the single most effective thing motorists can do to protect themselves in a crash.  Buckle up Louisiana.  Every trip.  Every time.

This is the fifth fatal crash investigated by Troop D in 2012.