DeSoto Parish – On September 9, 2020, around 4:45 a.m., Louisiana State Police Troop G responded to a two-vehicle, fatal crash on Louisiana Highway 765 near Marshall Road. This crash claimed the lives of two women from Texas.        

 

The preliminary investigation revealed a 2017 International tractor-trailer was stopped in the northbound travel lane of Louisiana Highway 765 preparing to make a right turn. At the same time, a 2017 Jeep SUV, driven by 27-year-old Julia Patton of Carthage, Texas, was traveling northbound on Louisiana Highway 765 approaching the stopped tractor-trailer. For reasons still under investigation, Patton failed to stop and struck the trailer’s rear bumper.

 

Patton and her front-seat passenger, identified as 18-year-old Jaylie Gray of Galveston, Texas, were unrestrained and suffered fatal injuries. A third passenger in Patton’s vehicle, who was also unrestrained, sustained serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured. Toxicology samples were obtained and submitted for analysis. This crash remains under investigation. 

 

Buckling up is the most effective way to protect yourself during a vehicle crash. Failure to take a few seconds to buckle up can have devastating consequences. Louisiana law requires every person in a vehicle, regardless of seating position, to be properly restrained day or night.

 

In 2020, Troop G has investigated 17 fatal crashes resulting in 20 deaths.