More than 90 people have died in car crashes in Tangipahoa
Parish from 2014 to 2016, according to one campaigner who is working to lessen
the number of deaths in avoidable road accidents.
Ron Whittaker, a former state police trooper who lives in
Hammond, spoke during the Hammond Kiwanis Club Tuesday about the Stop the Knock
Campaign.
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The campaign came to Tangipahoa Parish after local businesswoman
Donna Miller, wife of parish President Robby Miller, approached Whittaker in
August about reducing the number of fatal car accidents in the parish,
particularly involving young victims who are over-represented in car crash
fatalities, Whittaker said.
The deaths of three people in car crashes in a short 10-day period
prompted her to seek out Whittaker. The accidents had striking similarities. They
involved young people driving on narrow two-lane roads, going over the speed
limit and neglecting the seat belt. Two of the three victims were not wearing
the safety device, he said.
The campaign's name refers to door knocks from police officers,
who have to tell someone a loved one has died in a car crash. "We've got
to stop that knock," he told the Kiwanians.
Mrs. Miller was scheduled to join Whittaker for the presentation
but, ironically could not because she was attending the funeral of Michael Dywane
Jackson Dyson, former NFL player and former mayor of the Village of Tangipahoa
who died in a fatal car accident Friday. Kentwood resident Destiny Alexus
Gordon, 20, also died in that crash.
A few days earlier, a young man was killed on La. 1054 when his
vehicle hit a tree after leaving the highway, and two Hammond residents died
earlier last week in two separate accidents. Those victims were Brian
Boudreaux, 32, and Nathan Daniel Arnold, 18.
The campaign will involve talking to people, like civic groups,
about the leading causes of car crashes and how to avoid them. Whittaker urged
the club to speak to young ones new to driving about driving defensively,
always wearing a seat belt, avoiding distractions and never driving impaired.
The parish has several options for drinkers needing a ride home,
Whittaker said. Off-duty police officers, for example, started a company called
Your Ride, Our Driver, LLC., which provides professional licensed drivers who
bring people to a destination using the vehicle of the person who books the
service. The ride-sharing app Uber is available in Hammond.
One of the biggest causes of car crashes is distracted driving,
such as happens with texting, eating and talking with passengers while driving.
Whittaker said having three or more young passengers in a car driven by a young
person quadruples the odds of a crash. Going too fast (especially on
Tangipahoa's narrow rural roads) is another leading cause, as is impaired
driving, which includes alcohol and drugs, illegal or prescribed, he said.
He gave the club five tips to keep drivers safe from avoidable
accidents: buckle up, go slow, "get your head out of your app"
(meaning do not use the phone while driving), don't drink and drive and the
"if you see a track, think train" tip to encourage being mindful of
train crossings.
He said the campaign will try education, enforcement, engineering
and emergency response to reduce fatal crashes and will include multiple
agencies and groups, including parish government, the sheriff's office, TRACC,
Louisiana State Police, the state transportation department, the 21st Judicial
District Attorney's Office, North Oaks Health System, Acadian Ambulance and the
North Shore Regional Safety Coalition, among others. Source:
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