NEW ORLEANS — A Waste Connections crew was emptying garbage cans in Old Jefferson when a 2019, silver Toyota RAV 4, suddenly crashed into their trash collection truck.
The vehicle pinned a worker against the back of the truck, severing his leg. The accident happened Monday morning around 8:15 a.m., near the corner of River Road and Shrewsberry Court.
Louisiana State Police Trooper Kate Stegall said the driver of the SUV, May Wen, 41, of Metairie admitted to texting and driving before the accident.
“At this time, we do not suspect impairment,” Stegall said. “We do suspect the main cause of this crash was the distraction by the cellphone.”
The injured trash hauler works for Advanced Employee Solutions, a staffing company that supplies workers to Waste Connections, the garbage pickup contractor for Jefferson Parish. He is being treated for serious injuries at University Medical Center in New Orleans.
Kate Arthurs-Goldberg lives at Claiborne Court and River Road, not far from where the accident happened. She teaches at Jesuit High School.
“The fact that somebody would drive down this very street and think they can look at their phone is just horrifying to me,” Arthurs-Goldberg said. “I talk to my students all the time, don’t text and drive.”
The accident comes at a time when a house-passed bill aimed at cutting down on distracted driving is currently stalled in a senate committee in Baton Rouge.
“This bill is not designed to prevent the safe use of using your phone in your car,” Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge said. “It’s just to say you can’t have it in your hand.”
Talbot is a co-author of the bill.
“Georgia passed a handsfree statute in 2018 and their studies show that they had a 12 percent decrease in accidents with fatality,” he said.
State police had high praise for first responders on the scene of the accident.
“Thanks to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and Jefferson Parish Fire Department, they did apply a tourniquet on scene which likely saved the man’s life,” Trooper Stegall said.
The driver of the SUV was arrested at the scene and taken to the JP Correctional Center. Wen is now charged with negligent injuring, careless operation and illegal use of a cellphone while driving. Her bond was set at $650.
According to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission,193 people were killed in the state from 2016-2020, due to distracted driving. Another more than 23,000 people were injured in 2020 alone.
Currently 24 other states have handsfree driving laws on the books.
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