By LEONARD GRAY

LAPLACE – St. John the Baptist Parish code enforcement officer Edmond “Skipper” Songy died Tuesday assisting sheriff’s deputies and State Police troopers as they worked a series of accidents on Interstate 10.

Details were extremely sketchy, as of press time.

Songy, 60, of Greenwood Drive, LaPlace, was assisting to divert traffic from westbound I-10 onto Belle Terre Boulevard. According to state troopers at the original accident scene, the chain of events began with an accident on westbound I-10 as an accident at about 9:15 a.m. forced an 18-wheeler driver to slow down.

As he slowed, the empty flatbed trailer swung left and struck a car, smashing it into the left guard rail. The driver of the automobile died when his vehicle caught on fire.

Near the intersection of Belle Terre Boulevard and I-10, Songy was assisting to head off westbound traffic, diverting them onto Belle Terre Boulevard. However, a car tried to run the blockade and struck Songy, killing him “almost instantly” at 9:43 a.m., according to parish administrator Chris Guidry.

The driver of that car was arrested on the spot and taken to River Parishes Hospital, where he underwent blood-alcohol testing, routine procedure in the case of a vehicular homicide. His name was not released by State Police Troop B.

In another vehicle involved in the chain-reaction crashes, six in all, according to State Troop C spokesman Omar Landrum, an injured woman was airlifted from the scene by Air Med.

An injured man was also transported to River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace. Neither person’s identity was made public, as of press time.

“We’re having a hard time dealing with this, so sudden,” commented Joy Cannon of Parish President Nickie Monica’s office, speaking of Songy’s death.

Songy had been working with the parish for nearly two years at the time of his death, working jointly with both Planning and Zoning Director Adrienne Labat and Sheriff Wayne L. Jones.

Neither official was able to comment as of press time.