BATON ROUGE, La. — A new video published Thursday shows Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks leaving a Tigerland bar shortly before authorities say she was raped and fatally struck by a car.
The video, which was published by WBRZ-TV, reportedly shows Brooks leaving with four men outside of Reggie's Bar at 1:50 a.m. on Jan. 15. The video highlights a blond-haired woman darting in front of a car on Bob Pettit Boulevard outside the bar and linking up with the men.
The four individuals are facing rape charges after 19-year-old Madison Brooks of Covington, La., was struck by an oncoming car while standing in the middle of Burbank Drive.
WBRZ-TV reports that Kaivon Washington, 18, reportedly told authorities that he and three other men left the Tigerland bar with Brooks after a night of heavy drinking. Washington reportedly claimed he and an unnamed 17-year-old had sex with Brooks in the vehicle's backseat, and that Casen Carver, 18, and Everett Lee, 27, were in the front seat.
Washington told investigators that the sex was consensual and that when Brooks asked to go home, she gave them multiple addresses and asked to be dropped off near the Pelican Lakes subdivision off of Burbank Drive.
The sheriff's office said that Brooks' blood-alcohol level at the time would not allow her to consent to sexual acts. The lawyers for the accused said they have a video that shows that Brooks was not "in a drunken stupor" and knew what she was doing before the sex acts occurred.
Shortly after her encounter with the accused, Brooks was struck and killed by a car as she was in the middle of a street.
According to arrest documents, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office said Brooks' blood-alcohol level was .319% at the time of the crash, which is nearly four times the legal driving limit for an adult.
Louisiana law decrees that third-degree rape occurs “when the victim is incapable of resisting or of understanding the nature of the act because of a stupor or abnormal condition of mind produced by an intoxicating agent or any cause and the offender knew or should have known of the victim's incapacity.”
The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control issued an emergency suspension of Reggie's liquor license "due to the seriousness of the allegations and the potential threat to public safety."
The bar released the following statement to WBRZ on Thursday:
Even though she entered the bar with false identification, she wasn’t served nor did she consume any drinks at least during the last hour she was at Reggie’s.
Reggie’s has voluntarily turned over all video surveillance footage to EBRSO and has fully cooperated with EBRSO investigators since they were first contacted and requested to assist on Sunday, January 15.
Also, Reggie’s has reached out directly to LSU President Tate in response to his call for action and look forward to meeting with him and his team soon to work together to address the issues raised in his recent press release.
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