NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Two people were killed in separate pre-dawn highway accidents, New Orleans police said Saturday (Oct. 22).
The first fatal wreck occurred around 12:12 a.m. on the westbound Pontchartrain Expressway (US 90B) at the Claiborne Avenue exit. Police said responding officers found a taxi cab had crashed into the left-side guard rail. The 44-year-old man driving the cab was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy will determine whether the driver died in the crash, or from a medical emergency that preceded the wreck.
A few hours later, at 3:43 a.m., an adult woman was killed on westbound Interstate 10 near the Metairie Road/City Park Avenue exit (231A) as part of two collisions involving five vehicles.
NOPD detectives determined the woman was involved in the initial crash, when her vehicle was struck from behind by a pickup truck. Her vehicle spun out and came to rest near the shoulder of the interstate.
As she got out of her vehicle to assess the damage, police said the woman was struck and killed by a passing vehicle. Police said three other people involved in the five-vehicle pileup were taken for hospital treatment by New Orleans EMS. The age and identity of the dead woman have not been disclosed.
Police did not say whether impairment was suspected in either fatal crash.