JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — A Jefferson Parish Deputy is recovering from injuries he received in a four-car pileup near Elmwood Shopping Center.
The accident happened around 10:45 Monday morning on South Clearview Parkway. According to the JPSO, the driver of a black Mercedes SUV, rear-ended a deputy’s patrol unit, then struck two other vehicles. Beverly Bailey was just leaving a spin class at the Elmwood Fitness Center around when the SUV ripped off part of the hood of her car.
“I was the third person he hit,” Bailey said. “First, he hit the police car. Then he hit, I believe it was a red Jeep and then he went airborne here and that’s when he hit me and flew over.”
Sheriff Joe Lopinto said the driver was still accelerating when he hit the other vehicles. The Mercedes crashed into the base of a large sign which stopped it from plowing into a busy parking lot.
“It appears that the person may have had a medical condition, then lost control of the vehicle and ended up running into three other vehicles, including one of our police cars,” Lopinto said.
The force of the accident pushed the deputy across the median. Then his vehicle struck a light pole and fire hydrant. The deputy was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
“Looks like he has a broken hand,” Lopinto said. “He’s at the hospital getting those x-rays to confirm it, but he was up talking, assisted in the aid of this gentleman here before he was transported to the hospital.”
Bailey says if her car was any closer to the intersection, the vehicle that hit her may have landed on her windshield.
“I feel very blessed,” she said. “I had angels around me. That’s all I can say. I don’t think luck has anything to do with it. I think God was looking over me.”
Both the driver of the Mercedes and a passenger are also being treated for injuries.
The JPSO did not reveal the nature of the driver’s medical condition.
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