AMY SZPARA

PHOTO: CRASH INVESTIGATORS examine the wreckage of the 2000 Chevrolet pick-up which struck a Browning Ferris Inc. Mack truck Sunday morning, causing a chain-reaction. The disabled pick-up was hit from behind by two other vehicles, ejecting and instantly killing two St. James Parish women. (Staff Photo by Amy Szpara) 9LAPLACE – Two St. James Parish women were killed and several people were injured after a four-vehicle traffic crash near the 209 exit in LaPlace early Sunday morning. Sherri Parrino, 19, of Grand Point and Keni Deslatte, 22, of Paulina were pronounced dead at the scene by St. John the Baptist Parish Coroner Christy Montegut. Seven others were transported to River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace, according to Louisiana State Police. Ernest L. Snowden of New Orleans was driving a 1996 Browning Ferris Inc. Mack truck westbound on Interstate 10 around 5 a.m. Sunday morning when a 2000 Chevrolet pick-up truck driven by Christopher L. Mohon, 23, of Paulina slammed into him from behind. Disabled on the roadway, Mohon exited his vehicle to look at the damage to his truck, then the parked pickup was struck by another vehicle before the fourth automobile involved slammed into the third. Mohon’s five passengers remained in the extended cab pickup while he examined the damage. Parrino and Deslatte were ejected from the truck upon the crash from behind and killed instantly. Hailey Roussel, 19, Trischa Roussel, 21, and Jenee Weber, 19, all of Lutcher, were transported to River Parishes Hospital. The other two vehicles involved in the accident were a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport driven by Zachary D. Schrieber, 21, of New Orleans, and a 1995 Nissan Maxima driven by Christopher Bourgeois, 34, of Baton Rouge. Nicholas D. Foret, 21, and Matthew C. Shearer, 20, both of Baton Rouge, were passengers in the Cherokee Sport. Demitress C. Badon, 21, of Baton Rouge was the passenger in the Maxima. Mohon, Schrieber and Bourgeois were all charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, negligent injury and vehicular homicide. All were taken to the Sherman R. Walker Correctional Center in LaPlace. All passengers received minor to moderate injuries and were treated. St. James Parish Sheriff Willy Martin, who was at the scene, said the six people in the pickup were headed back from the French Quarter after celebrating with Lutcher High School students after prom in New Orleans. Deslatte and Parrino were Lutcher High graduates. “I knew both of the girls who died,” said Martin, adding his son had graduated with one of the girls. According to Brenda Mitchell, a counselor at Lutcher High School, buses chartered by parents and carrying students back from prom were en route to meet family and friends for a post-prom breakfast. One bus filled with Lutcher High School students arrived at the scene just after the accident. St. James Councilman Wilson Malbrough, a parent of a Lutcher High student, chartered the bus that was carrying 24 students and their dates that was traveling on Interstate 10 just behind the pickup. “It was my daughter’s first prom,” said Malbrough. “We decided to charter a bus for her and her friends. It’s a tradition. It’s also a tradition that parents have a buffet breakfast ready for them when they return.” The students on the bus had just been with the people in the pickup in the French Quarter. They were all headed to breakfast, said Malbrough. According to Malbrough, the bus stopped at the scene of the accident, and one boy got off to offer his cell phone for help. He was unprepared for the scene he would witness. Other students got off of the bus to assist, and they were horrified to learn that two of their friends had been killed. When the bus arrived home, the buffet breakfast awaited the students. Parents, unaware of the gruesome accident, greeted the kids. “It was tragic. They got off the bus crying and hugging each other. They just couldn’t believe what they had seen,” said Malbrough. Counseling was available to students Monday through St. James Parish Hospital grief counselors. Services were held for Parrino Tuesday at 9 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Paulina. Parrino was a student at Southeastern Louisiana University. Services for Deslatte will be held today at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church. She was a student at Ascension Vo-Tech.