By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Twin brothers from Mt. Airy were killed in a single-vehicle accident Saturday morning on Airline Highway in St. James Parish after their car veered off the road into a nearby bayou, according to a release from State Police.

Rescue divers with the Gonzales Fire Department discovered the bodies of Drew J. Bourgeois and Darryl Bourgeois, 26, in the water adjacent to the northbound lanes of Airline Highway, said Trooper First Class Russell Graham, spokesman for State Police Troop A. The investigation was initiated when a concerned family member told police the two men had been missing since Saturday morning. Drew Bourgeois’ 2006 Pontiac G6 was also recovered from the bayou.

Graham said a preliminary investigation revealed that Drew Bourgeois was driving south on Airline highway when the vehicle veered to the left and ran off the roadway into the median. As the vehicle entered the median, it began to rotate counter-clockwise. It then crossed the northbound lanes of Airline Highway continuing to travel southeast. The vehicle then entered the bayou, striking the water with its passenger side.

Graham said neither of the men were wearing seatbelts, and both were ejected from the vehicle, which came to rest underwater and out of sight. Investigators do not believe impairment was a factor, and the crash remains under investigation.