Police ID vehicle from fatal Airline Highway hit & run
Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, November 28, 2017
- Anyone with information related to the fatal hit and run crash, the vehicle or who was driving is asked to contact Louisiana State Police Troop B at 504-471-2775.
LAPLACE — Eugene Webber III was an electrician, a fisherman and loved to shoot pool, family members said.
A family man who didn’t have children of his own, according to cousin Tracy Scott, Webber came from a close-knit family and was always “a great uncle to his nieces and nephews.”
“He was the youngest of three children, who was loved and adored,” Scott said. “He had a wonderful sense of humor and a big heart. He would give you the shirt off his back. He was just very well loved and well liked by everyone. He never met a stranger. He had a fantastic smile.”
Scott and the rest of Webber’s family are searching for answers this week after the LaPlace man was killed during a hit-and-run wreck Saturday night along Airline Highway.
Louisiana State Police said the wreck occurred at approximately 6 p.m. near the intersection of Airline Highway and Jaubert Lane in LaPlace while Webber was walking north across Airline Highway.
Preliminary investigation revealed Webber was in the left lane on the westbound side of Airline Highway when an unknown truck struck him.
The victim was knocked onto Airline Highway’s southbound lane, where he was struck again. State Police said the driver of the second vehicle stopped following impact, cooperated fully with authorities and is not facing charges.
Webber died on the scene, and State Police said it is unknown if impairment and/or speed were factors, adding the investigation is on-going.
The hit-and-run vehicle is described as a 1988-2000 model year GMC/Chevrolet pick-up truck. The truck could be a Sierra, Cheyenne, Silverado, C2500 or Scottsdale model. The truck is a light color, possibly silver or gray. There will be damage on the vehicle, specifically on the driver’s side headlight and amber signal light.
The suspect vehicle also has a tool box mounted across the bed of the truck.
Anyone with information related to the crash, the vehicle or who was driving is asked to contact Louisiana State Police Troop B at 504-471-2775.