By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A Vacherie man was killed early Sunday after his car ran off the road on Louisiana Highway 18 on the west bank of St. James Parish, according to a release from State Police.

Lawrence Williams Jr., 63, was pronounced dead at St. James Parish Hospital in Lutcher after his vehicle crashed into a ditch on the side of the road and flipped onto its roof.

According to State Police, Williams, who was driving north on La. 18 in a 2004 Cadillac Deville around 2 a.m. Sunday, appeared to have misjudged a left turn in the road near St. James Street.

The vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway, struck the ditch embankment and flipped over.

The release said Williams was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. A toxicology report, required by law, is still pending.