NEW ORLEANS — The NOPD is asking for the public’s help after a motorcyclist suffered severe injuries in a hit-and-run crash near City Park on June 2.
Police said that around 11 a.m., the motorcyclist, identified in a GoFundMe post as Jaquain Paul, a 27-year-old Delgado student studying drafting and design, was operating the bike near the intersection of Wisner Blvd. and Friedrichs Avenue when he was struck by a pickup truck with a camper top that fled the scene.
Police said the crash caused life-threatening injuries to Paul and in a GoFundMe post, his mother described them in graphic detail, saying that her son had to have immediate emergency surgery to remove two sections of his intestines that had “burst from his body.” She describes what else her son has undergone.
“Jaquain was given 5 blood transfusions, doctors removed his spleen, he had fluid in his lungs (resulting in a chest tub), a fractured wrist, bleeding and swelling in his brain resulting in a stroke. He also has a broken hip/pelvic bone and left arm all resulting in adding metal plates to repair each area. Jaquain is currently intubated and has undergone several surgeries thus far and will require additional surgeries from specialized plastic surgeons to repair and close his abdominal cavity and will have to undergo long-term physical therapy,” said the post.
The image below is the vehicle the NOPD believes was involved in the crash.
The NOPD has released a photograph of the vehicle they believe was the one that struck Paul. Police say the vehicle possibly has front-end damage on the driver’s side from the crash. It was pictured turning onto Gentilly Blvd. from Paris Avenue before heading to I-610.
Anyone with additional information on this incident, the suspect vehicle and/or the vehicle’s driver is urged to contact NOPD Traffic Division Hit and Run Investigations Unit at 504-658-6210. Those wishing to report information anonymously can do so by calling Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP.
