ARABI, La. — Two people have died in crashes in the metro New Orleans area Wednesday morning.
One man was killed and another person is in critical condition after an early morning crash on Judge Perez Drive Wednesday.
The crash happened shortly after 3:30 a.m. on West Judge Perez Drive near Center Street in Arabi.
According to State Police, 35-year-old Johnathan M. Franklin of New Orleans was driving a Volkswagen Passat in the right lane at a high speed. Franklin apparently lost control of the car and it went across the left lane and struck a tree in the neutral ground.
State Police said Franklin wasn’t wearing a seat belt, suffered severe injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene.
A second passenger in the front seat suffered critical injuries and was taken to the hospital.
Routine toxicology tests were run and will be part of the investigation.
A second crash shortly after 7 a.m. left another man dead near Benefit Street and the I-610 on ramp.
According to New Orleans Police, the driver of a truck was heading north on Benefit Street when he left the road near the I-610 on-ramp. The truck crashed into a pole, and flipped before coming to a rest under the highway bridge.
The driver was found dead inside the vehicle.
No further information is available at this time. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office will identify the decedent and determine the official cause of death, upon completion of autopsy and notification of family.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.