GROSSE TETE, La. (AP) - Four people, including a Baton Rouge
police officer, were killed Friday after a fiery crash on
Interstate 10 involving three 18-wheelers and a small sport utility
vehicle.
State police said a 15-year-old girl survived the crash and was
not seriously injured.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff identified the officer
killed as Russell Kiger, 37, who was off duty in a personal vehicle
with his cousin, Jacob Kiger, 38, of Denham Springs. Both men died
at the scene.
State police said an eastbound 18-wheeler sideswiped another
that was stopped on the shoulder around 5 a.m. Friday. The driver
lost control, crossed the median and collided head-on into a third
18-wheeler traveling west.
Troopers said the second collision caused a fire. Once the fire
was out, they found the SUV in the wreckage.
The driver of the eastbound tractor-trailer, Mark Woodard, 34,
of Denham Springs, and the driver of the westbound truck, Freddy
Guerra, 52, of Edinburg, Texas, were also killed.
Russell Kiger was a 2-year veteran of the department and a
former deputy with the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office. Funeral
arrangements are pending.
"This is a horrible, tragic loss for the Kiger family and for
our department as well," LeDuff said. "Please keep Russell's
loved ones and fellow officers in your prayers."
The driver of the tractor-trailer that was parked on the
shoulder, Jose Ramierz, 48, was asleep in the cab and not injured.
State police cited him for failure to properly display warning
devices for a disabled vehicle on the shoulder.
The crash remains under investigation.



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