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December 27, 2006A Thibodaux man was killed when the truck he was driving hit a farm tractor hauling a diesel tank Saturday morning, state police said.
Leroy Braud, 45, of Thibodaux, died after his 1986 Ford truck struck a farm tractor on Forty Arpent Road in Lafourche Parish, said Trooper First Class Todd Hyatt. Ivory Steward Jr., 68, of Thibodaux, was driving the tractor.
According to Hyatt, Steward pulled out from a sugarcane field head-land road on Forty Arpent Road. Braud’s truck struck the diesel tank Steward was hauling, causing it to rupture.
Hyatt said about 500 gallons of diesel spilled into a ditch nearby. The St. John Volunteer Fire Department contained the spill; ES&H cleaned up the diesel.
Braud, who was traveling alone, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Lafourche Parish Coroner’s Office, Hyatt said. He was not wearing his safety belt.
Steward was not injured as a result of the crash.
Hyatt said neither driver was believed to have been impaired because of drugs or alcohol, but as per state law, blood was drawn from Braud and sent to a crime lab for analysis. He said Steward submitted to a voluntary breath test, the results of which were .000g%.
Charges in the crash may be pending, Hyatt said. Trooper Brent Dufrene is investigating the incident.
