
Police are searching for the vehicle involved in a hit and run incident that left a truck driver critically injured on the side of a well-traveled highway.
The incident occurred between 2:34 a.m. and 3:22 a.m. in Gonzales, Louisiana on Wednesday, July 11th.
The Gonzales Police Department says that they were called to an exit ramp on eastbound Interstate 10 at mile marker 44 to investigate a reported body lying next to a semi tanker truck parked on the side of the roadway. When officers arrived, they discovered a Dupre Logistics tanker truck with a blown tire parked on the median between the main lanes and the exit ramp- its driver laying on the ground beside the rig with serious injuries to his legs and upper body.
Unfortunately the truck driver, 57-year-old Ernie Guillard, was incoherent and unable to communicate when officers arrived and was transported to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries two days later.
Upon investigation of the scene, officers became suspicious when they discovered no damage had been done to the tractor trailer and that Guilliard’s personal belongings, such as his cell phone and wallet, had been strewn along the roadway near the scene of the crime. Information form the trucking company’s GPS indicates that the tanker truck came to a stop at 2:34 a.m., though police were not called until nearly an hour later at 3:22 a.m., reported WAFB News.
Still, even with the strange details and large span of time between the initial stop and the emergency call, police figure that Guilliard must have been a victim of a hit and run incident.
“We are suspecting he got out of the truck to look at what might be wrong and, because of the proximity of the [big rig] to the travel lane, [and the fact] that it [the tanker truck] was parked in the gore, that another vehicle may have struck him,” said Lt. Steven Nethken.
“We suspect that the driver was struck by a passing vehicle on eastbound Interstate 10 sometime in the 48 minute window as recorded by the trucking company, it first stopping ’til we received the call for response,” Nethken continued.
Guillard was a father of seven children ranging in age from 3 to 17 years old and had been working for Dupre Logistics since November of 2015.
“Right now, we have pretty much exhausted every lead we had. Without someone providing us info who was traveling at the time of the accident and seeing the actions of the driver, or what occurred, this is a very difficult case,” Nethken added.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the Gonzales Police Department at 225-647-9537 or call Crime Stoppers at 225-344-7867.