St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office was involved in a two-car accident

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, May 20, 2008

A St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy was involved in a two-car accident involving a grey Dodge pickup truck on Saturday evening around 5:45 p.m., occurring at the intersection of West Fifth Street and Elm Street. State Police investigated and reported that the deputy was likely at fault since he was going at a high speed on Elm, following up a call from another sheriff’s officer. Dep. Bailey J. Newsom apparently ran the red light as he was coming south on Elm, and collided with Dana Brown, 21, who was driving the truck that had six children in it. State Police said no citation was issued since they have turned the investigation over to the St. John Sheriff’s Office. Newsom was taken to River Parishes Hospital and suffered minor injuries. He was released, while Brown was taken to St. James Hospital, although no information was available on her, or the children. The children in the car were a 1-year-old, two 14-year-old girls, and three 16-year-old girls. State Police said both Brown and the 1-year-old had on seat belts, although information on the others in the truck was unavailable. (Staff photos by Kevin Chiri.)