METAIRIE, La. — Last Friday night's post-vacation wind-down came to a crashing halt for one Jefferson Parish couple when a truck barreled through their living room in the 200 block of Holly Grove in Metairie.
Homeowner Scott Castle posted images of the potentially fatal crash that left his wife hospitalized with a head injury, and dozens of lacerations and bruises.
Castle told WWL Louisiana that he and his wife, Jody, had just returned home 90 minutes earlier from a beach vacation in Pensacola, and both were enjoying U.S. Olympic Trials coverage on television after unpacking from their trip when the unimaginable happened.
"It was instantaneous," Castle told WWL. "Never in a million years did we suspect a truck would come crashing inside our house. It was an unfathomable occurrence."
Castle said the truck appeared to have traveled more than 70 yards from the road before flattening his neighbor's hot-water heater and children's Jungle Gym playground equipment before crashing through double-wide glass doors and sending 56-year-old Jody Castle between 15-18 feet across the room, as well as thousands of shards of glass as far as 50 feet down the hallway of the home before coming to a halt in the family's living room.
The incident left 68-year-old Scott Castle with minor injuries, however, Jody was not so lucky after spending four days at University Medical Center after sustaining significant head trauma, dozens of lacerations, massive body bruising and a left eye swollen shut.
"Recovery is going to be a journey, for sure," explained Scott Castle, who told WWL the truck would have stopped on top of his wife had it not been for a support pole in the room. "Her speech has been affected and there is memory loss, in fact, she can't remember the incident at all. Jody's mobility has also been affected, and she needs help getting around the house."
Another family, the Menards, who live next door and were not home at the time of the incident, told WWL's Whitney Miller this was not the first time someone has crashed into their property.
“We've lived here since 2007, and this is the 14th or 15th person that has ended up in our yard in some kind of way [by] just coming off of the service road and not making the turn,” claimed Mark Menard.
Mark and Aimee Menard said they've reached out to Jefferson Parish on several occasions asking for something to be done.
"Flashing lights, we’ve asked for a guardrail, a barricade, speed bumps, rumble strips and there is always some type of reason why they can't do that," he said.
"To their credit, they are helpful, they want to do something but it's DOTD’s jurisdiction and they’ve had a lot of fighting over the years to figure out who’s in charge," Aimee Menard explained.
And regardless of who it is, both families want to prevent any future life-threatening accidents.
According to Castle's original post published in a private Facebook Group, his wife was sent flying 15 feet across the room when the sofa she was sitting on was struck when the truck crashed through a glass door.
Castle later posted that he also suffered injuries, although minor.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said the driver failed to negotiate a right turn from the service road onto Carrollton and traveled through the backyard of two homeowners before ultimately hitting and entering the residence.
The JPSO said the driver was transported to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries. They said impairment was not suspected, however excess speed is believed to have caused the accident.
Castle's original post read:
"This is the end result of Friday night's event that ended in my living room. By the grace of God, my wife is going to be OK, but it's going to be a long journey. She sustained severe head trauma, dozens of lacerations and bruising over her entire body. She was on the sofa that backed up to a portion of a double-wide glass door that the truck crashed through. She was launched about 15 feet before colliding with a very heavy piece of furniture and the tile floor. Currently, she has no memory of the incident and is puzzled as to why she is hospitalized. I have purposely not referred to this as an accident because it wasn't. It was caused by careless, reckless behavior of someone with no regard for anyone but himself. A truly selfish act! My family and the people that love us have pulled together tighter than ever. Please keep the Castle family – and especially my wife, Jody – in your prayers."
In a follow-up post published on the Old Metairie Happenings Group, Castle requested the public's assistance in gathering any footage or information on the whereabouts and use of the vehicle prior to the accident between Oaklawn and Carrollton on the South Interstate 10 Service Road before the time of the incident – 8:30 to 8:45 p.m.
JPSO said the man responsible for the crash was not intoxicated at the time but he was not insured. His vehicle was seized and he was given multiple citations.
He was cited for careless operation, no license, no license plate, and no insurance.
As for the parish, we reached out to find out if there are any traffic calming remedies in the works.
A spokesperson from the parish told WWL Louisiana they are currently in conversation with DOTD about guardrails however, the decision ultimately is up to the state.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated once further information becomes available.
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