Two Louisiana Drivers Killed in Nighttime Head-On Wrong Way Crash on I-49

Louisiana – On September 24, 2022, Louisiana State Police reported that shortly before 10:30 p.m. on September 23, 2022, LSP Troop I was notified of a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 49 near milepost 21 (two miles north of US 190) in St. Landry Parish. Landry C. Fontenot, Jr., 75, of Ville Platte, Louisiana, and Grace J. Eaglin, 66, of Opelousas, Louisiana, died in the crash.

Fontenot was driving south in the northbound left lane of I-49 in a 2015 GMC Sierra pickup. At the same moment, Eaglin was driving a 2011 Nissan X-Terra north on I-49, also in the left lane. Fontenot’s wrong-way pickup collided head-on with the X-Terra in the northbound lane.

Both Fontenot and Eaglin were restrained but died at the scene from their injuries. The St. Landry Parish Coroner’s Office pronounced both drivers dead. Although there is no evidence of impairment, routine toxicology samples were acquired from the drivers, and results are waiting. This crash is still being investigated.

So far in 2022, Troop I has investigated 37 fatal crashes resulting in 43 deaths.