Mahlon Joseph Bourgeois
July 7, 2009
Ronnie Jerome Labit
July 9, 2009A 23-year-old Houma man died last Wednesday after his pickup veered off La. Highway 182 in the Mandalay area and overturned in Bayou Black, state police reported. The accident occurred around 12:40 a.m., authorities said, but the crash wasn’t discovered and reported until shortly after 7 a.m.
Brandon Smith was driving his 2001 Chevrolet S-10 eastbound when the vehicle veered to the right. Troopers said Smith overcorrected to the left, causing the truck to run off the road and hit some trees along the bayouside. The pickup flipped over into the bayou, coming to a stop upside down and totally submerged.
Authorities pronounced Smith dead at the scene.
State police said alcohol use is suspected; however, a blood toxicology report is pending from the Terrebonne Parish Coroner’s Office. Speed is also believed to have been a factor in the crash, authorities said.
Smith was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
State Trooper Willie Verret III is investigating the incident.
