By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

KENNER – A multi-car wreck on Interstate 10 in Kenner Wednesday claimed the life of a Paulina couple and their 42-year-old son, according to a release from the Kenner Police department.

The victims of the crash, which occurred just after 4 p.m. Wednesday between Interstate 310 and the Williams Boulevard exit, were identified by Kenner Police Thursday as Gerard Faucheux, 42, of Meadville, Miss., and Grand Point residents Nelson and Shirley Faucheux, both 72.

According Lt. Wayne McInnis, a spokesman for the Kenner Police Department, a witness said the Faucheuxs were traveling westbound on I-10 when their Toyota Sienna minivan was struck by a 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis driven by Carol Banks, 62, of Kenner. McInnis said Banks was traveling at a high rate of speed when, for some unknown reason, she swerved from the left lane into the center lane striking the van on the side.

The impact caused the van to flip on its side and slide across the median into the eastbound lanes of the interstate. The van crossed into the path of a Chevrolet Tahoe, which barreled into the overturned vehicle. McInnis said all three victims died at the scene of the crash.

Witnesses said Banks continued westbound, striking an additional vehicle along the way. She exited I-10 at the Loyola Drive exit, where officers responding to 9-1-1 calls about the accident stopped and apprehended her.

The accident forced the complete closure of the eastbound lanes of I-10 for several hours while Kenner Police performed an investigation. The accident snarled traffic for miles on I-10 and Airline Highway as drivers detoured around the closure.

Gerard Faucheux worked as an information technologies coordinator at a telephone company in Meadville and also wrote and produced his own Christian music. At the time of the accident, he was taking his parents home from a medical appointment in Metairie for his father, who was battling diabetes and heart disease. He and his sister, Lisa Bacala, had been alternating trips over the past year.

According to Gerard Faucheux’s music Web site, he had recently informed his fans that doctors had been forced to amputate his father’s right leg and left foot. He also posted videos from a trip he made to his parents’ home to help them build a ramp to help his father get into and out of the house.

McInnis said officers performed a sobriety test on Banks at the scene and determined she was not impaired at the time of the crash. He said investigators determined that speed was the primary cause of the wreck. It is not known whether other distractions caused Banks to swerve through traffic.

Banks was arrested at the scene and charged with three counts of negligent homicide, two counts of hit and run and one count of reckless operation.

If convicted, Banks faces up to five years behind bars for each negligent homicide count.

Kenner Police have asked anyone with information concerning this incident to call Traffic Officer William Bagert at 504-712-2222, or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.