Annie Lovell
January 28, 2008January 30
January 30, 2008The Tri-parishes’ first weekend of parading was a busy one for local law enforcement agencies.
Bad weather backed up Friday’s parades, but authorities were called into action double-time on Saturday and Sunday.
A local Montegut woman remains in stable but critical condition after she was hit Sunday by a motorcycle prior to the Krewe of Hyacinthians parade.
According to state police, Shriner Club member Gary Picou, of Montegut, was escorting the Hyacinthians court when he struck pedestrian Stacey Hebert, 35, also of Montegut.
Louisiana State Police Troop C spokesman Gilbert Dardar said Hebert was transported Monday from Terrebonne General Medical Center to West Jefferson Hospital in Gretna for treatment.
No arrests have been made and police do not suspect drugs or alcohol to be a factor in the accident. Dardar said blood was taken from both the pedestrian and the driver. Crime lab reports are pending.
In a separate incident Sunday afternoon, a Houma man died shortly after he was struck by a vehicle while he was riding his bicycle.
Houma Police investigated a traffic fatality at the intersection of Main Street and East Street involving a car and a bicycle. Thomas Allen Goodwyn, 69, of Houma was operating his bicycle on East Street shortly after 4 p.m. when he turned into the path of a 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis being operated by David Williams, 19, of Houma.
Houma Police spokesman Lt. Todd Duplantis said Williams had just turned off of Main Street onto East Street prior to the crash.
Williams and his passengers were not injured in the crash. The police spokesman said Williams voluntarily submitted to a blood alcohol test. The results are pending and the investigation is ongoing.
A Houma woman was arrested for a DWI on Sunday night after her Jeep struck a Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office cruiser at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center.
Tana J. Falgout, 43, of 4230 Bayouside Drive, struck Deputy Dennis Lecompte’s vehicle as he was pulling out of the civic center parking lot. No one was injured due to the crash and damages were minor.
Duplantis said Falgout appeared to be intoxicated. A field sobriety test was given and she was subsequently arrested for driving while impaired. At the Houma Police Department, she was tested for intoxication. Her final blood alcohol concentration was higher than the legal limit, he said.
Falgout was charged with DWI. The crash remains under investigation.
In all, Houma Police investigated 39 parade-related complaints, 10 of which ended with arrests and three citations, Duplantis said.
“This was a busy weekend for the police department because two of the parades had to run back to back on Sunday, which increased the number of people on the roadways. Mardi Gras is always a busy time, but this weekend was one of the busiest.”
During Aquarius’ parade Saturday, Houma Police had six arrests and issued one citation between the hours of 6 p.m. and 12 a.m.
During the Hyacinthians and Hercules parades, officers had a combined total of four arrests and two citations between the hours of 12 p.m. and 12 a.m.
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Malcolm Wolfe said the agency netted two DWI arrests, 14 arrests for disturbing the peace while intoxicated and loud music and 10 citations for underage drinking and possession of marijuana.
“For us the weekend was rather quiet, nothing out of the ordinary for a Mardi Gras weekend,” Wolfe said.
In the meantime, Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Larry Weidel said the sheriff’s office netted seven DWI arrests over the weekend.
“We don’t feel like we made any more arrests than normal,” Weidel said. “But we still can not understand why people will continue to drink and drive with all the publicity and actions going on about the strict penalties that require jail time if arrested.”
