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January 30, 2019
Houma crash kills a local teen
January 31, 2019
First responders in Houma struggled to rescue a man after the pickup he was driving plunged into the cold waters of Little Bayou Black off of Highway 311 near Barataria Avenue Wednesday.
Despite their best efforts, officials said, the driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead. An investigation by state police is ongoing.
Bayou Cane Fire Chief Ken Himel said a call was received at 4:46 p.m. of a wreck at the location and firefighters were on the scene within five minutes, at 4:51, confirming people in the water at 4:52.
“When we got in the water, we found an unresponsive driver,” Himel said. “First the guys attempted to pull him out with no success, something was holding him.”
Firefighters could not ascertain if the truck’s dash had him entrapped or something else within the truck.
Two additional firefighters tried to get under the man’s arms within the submerged truck but they were again frustrated in their attempt.
A bystander, Himel said, attempted to pull the car, and firefighters attempted to move it as well.
There were concerns, the chief said, that the truck might roll if further attempts were made to dislodge it, potentially creating a worse scenario. A third attempt was made to extricate but was also unsuccessful.
A wrecker whose operators are skilled at removing vehicles from water arrived and the truck was finally removed.
“My guys never quit,” Himel said of his firefighters.
Extrication tools were used to recover the body, firefighters said.
Firefighters had made a request to the Bayou Cane office for dry clothing and it was delivered. Still engaged in the operation, they made another request because the dry clothes had become wet.
A secondary search was done and a preliminary conclusion was made that no other person had been in the vehicle.
Firefighters, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies, Louisiana State Police and medical personnel from Acadian Ambulance were still working at the scene at around 6:30 p.m.
