By BEN LUNDIN

Staff Reporter

GARYVILLE – A tire blowout led to a violent crash on Interstate 10 on Monday, resulting in the death of a passenger and serious injury to the driver, according to Louisiana State Police.

While driving west on Interstate 10 near milepost 198, Barbara Jones, 31, of Jennings, LA, attempted to correct the course of her swerving 1993 Ford Escort after the right rear tire deflated, but reportedly overcorrected to the left and sent the car into a counter-clockwise tailspin through the median.

Inertia flipped the car several times, sending Jones and the front seat passenger, Candelariio Santos, 40, of Jennings, La., barreling through the windshield and onto the highway, neither of whom were wearing their seatbelts, before it came to a rest in the median facing Eastward. Two juveniles in the vehicle were wearing their seatbelts and suffered moderate injuries in the crash.

Santos suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:20 p.m. Jones was airlifted to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital with severe injuries, and the juveniles were driven to River Parish Hospital for treatment.

The event was the first fatal crash handled by Troop B of the Louisiana State Police in 2007. Trooper David Easley is investigating the incident, including whether drug or alcohol impairment was a factor in the crash.