Louisiana residents should be aware that, according to the CDC, every year in the US, 214 million prescriptions for opioids are issued. However, the rate at which opioids are being prescribed per 100 people has gone down from 72.4% in 2006 to 66.5% in 2016. Most opioids warn users on their labels that they should not drive or operate machinery while taking the medication, yet opioid use among drivers is growing.
Fatal storm chaser crash results in wrongful death lawsuit
Severe weather sends many people in Louisiana inside, but tornadoes draw storm chasers onto the roads. Their storm videos have become popular with viewers, who watch shows like "Storm Wranglers" on The Weather Channel. The death of a livestreaming duo who produced content for the show has interrupted the excitement. Their fatal crash with a National Weather Service storm spotter has landed the network at the center of a wrongful death lawsuit.
Escaped lion leaves zoo enclosure, kills intern
Louisiana residents may have heard that on December 30, 2018, a lion escaped from a locked space at the Conservators Center located in Burlington, North Carolina, and killed a 22-year-old intern. The intern, a graduate of Indiana University, had been employed at the zoo for approximately two weeks when she was killed.
Limo in fatal accident had safety citations
Some people in Louisiana might have heard about a deadly limousine accident in New York on Oct. 6. The accident killed two pedestrians, the driver and all 17 passengers in the vehicle when it ran a stop sign and hit a parked SUV.
Court determines Home Depot. can be held liable for death
Louisiana workers may be interested to learn that Home Depot Inc. was sued for negligence after a pregnant employee was murdered at an offsite event in 2012. The employee's murderer, who had been her supervisor, was convicted of homicide and sexual assault in 2014.
Investigation of Louisiana bus crash undermines driver's story
The state police investigation of a fatal Aug. 28, 2016, bus crash that occurred on Interstate 10 contradicts the driver's claim that the brakes failed at the time of the accident. The newly released report about the crash that hurt 40 people and killed three found that the breaking system on the bus was functional before and during the crash.
Passenger fatally injured in Louisiana crash
Louisiana State Police report that a 15-year-old male was fatally injured in a crash in Loranger when he was partially ejected from the right rear window of a Hummer on Oct. 22. According to news sources, an unlicensed 17-year-old driver was behind the wheel of the vehicle in which the deceased teenager was riding when the deadly collision with a Freightliner fertilizer spreader truck took place at the intersection of LA 442 and LA 40.
Louisiana man killed in head-on collision
A 22-year-old Louisiana man was killed and two others were injured in a head-on collision in Ponchatoula on Sept. 19. The accident occurred just before 5 a.m.
School bus driver killed in pedestrian accident
On Sept. 19, a Louisiana school bus driver was killed while walking to her bus to start her morning route. The 58-year-old woman was walking across the street near her home in Caddo Parish when she was struck by a Toyota Tercel that was traveling northbound on Mansfield Road.
Senator pushes for action on keyless ignition systems
Louisianans who have vehicles with keyless ignition systems may want to learn about some potentially dangerous problems with them. Unlike keyed ignitions, many keyless systems do not have an automatic turn-off function when a person leaves their car with their key fob.
