LAPLACE, La. — Four people were killed and another child is in critical condition after a head-on crash on Airline Highway in St. Charles Parish Monday morning.
State Police said the crash occurred around 6 a.m. on US 61 (Airline Highway) near I-310. The crash involved a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on the southbound lanes.
According to State Police, a GMC Terrain driving south in the southbound lanes of US 61 was struck head-on by a Volkswagen Passat that was headed northbound in the southbound lanes. Police said they aren’t certain why the vehicle was driving in the wrong direction.
A preliminary investigation showed that 33-year-old Matthieu Christophe of LaPlace was driving the Terrain south near the I-310 exchange while 38-year-old Benjamin Alexis was traveling in a car with his two sons and another child in the Passat.
The head-on crash left everyone involved with critical injuries. Christophe and Benjamin Alexis were pronounced dead at the scene. Alexis’ sons, 8-year-old Benjamin Alexis III and 5-year-old Charles Alexis, along with a third child, were all unrestrained in the back seat of the Passat. Alexis’ sons both died from their injuries while at the hospital. The third child remains in critical condition.