KENNER, La. — A 45-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with a road rage crash that left a 22-year-old woman and her unborn child dead in January.
Kenner Police said that Shannon Alvarez was booked with vehicular homicide and third-degree feticide in connection with the crash that left Jade Lewis, who was in the late stages of pregnancy, dead. Her unborn child was also killed. Family said Lewis was due to deliver in early February.
Police said that toxicology tests done at the time of the crash came back and indicated that Alvarez was under the influence of a couple of dangerous substances.
Alvarez was arrested Friday night at her home in Kenner.
The crash occurred in the 2400 block of West Esplanade Avenue on January 30.
Police say the road rage incident started when one of the drivers wouldn't let the other merge. That escalated to both cars speeding down the West Esplanade, blocking each other.
According to Lt. Michael Cunningham, the public information officer for Kenner Police, the incident started somewhere around Williams Boulevard and West Esplanade.
“Someone wanted to get in the other lane, they get too close, someone blows their horn and then it escalates form there,” Cunningham said. “Then the other driver doesn’t want to let somebody over. Witnesses are saying that’s what happened here.”
Cunningham said both vehicles were moving at a high rate of speed, trying to pass one another. Then, the SUV, driven by the unidentified driver, clipped the front of Lewis’ vehicle, causing her to go off the road and strike a power pole. Lewis was pronounced dead on the scene. Her unborn child did not survive.
After striking Lewis’ vehicle, police say Alvarez's SUV began to fish tail and went off the road in the opposite direction, crashing into another pole. The driver is being treated for injuries.