SORRENTO, LA — A 38-year-old man from Daytona Beach, Florida, died Thursday night after a pickup truck hit him while he was walking along Airline Highway near Sorrento, according to Louisiana State Police.
Investigators said the crash happened just before 8 p.m. near Frank Drive in Ascension Parish. The pedestrian was walking north in the left travel lane when a northbound pickup struck him.
Emergency crews took the man to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
How the crash unfolded on Airline Highway
State police said the vehicle involved was a pickup truck traveling north on Airline Highway. The pedestrian was also headed north, but he was in the roadway rather than on a shoulder or sidewalk.
The impact happened in the left travel lane near Frank Drive, a stretch of highway that carries steady traffic through the Sorrento area. Officials have not said whether lighting, traffic volume or weather played a role in the collision.
Because the crash happened in the evening, troopers are continuing to piece together the sequence of events leading up to the strike. The exact moments before impact have not been publicly detailed by investigators.
Victim was a Daytona Beach resident taken to a local hospital
Louisiana State Police identified the man as a 38-year-old Daytona Beach resident. His name has not been released publicly in the information provided by investigators.
After being hit, he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Despite those efforts, he died later from the injuries caused in the crash.
The fatality adds another tragic case to the long list of pedestrian crashes in which a person on foot is struck while moving along a roadway shared with vehicles. Police have not said why the man was in the lane at the time.
Driver was not hurt and was not wearing a seatbelt
State police said the driver of the Chevrolet Silverado was not injured in the wreck. Troopers also noted that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.
Investigators did not say whether that seatbelt violation affected the crash itself. At this stage, officials have not announced any charges or citations tied to the collision.
Louisiana State Police regularly examine both driver behavior and roadway conditions in fatal crashes, and this case remains under review as those details are sorted out.
Toxicology testing may determine whether impairment played a role
Troopers are waiting on toxicology results as part of the investigation. Those findings could help determine whether the driver, the pedestrian or both were impaired at the time of the crash.
For now, investigators have not said that alcohol or drugs were involved. The case remains open while officials wait for laboratory results and continue gathering evidence.
That process can take time, but state police said the testing is important to understanding exactly what happened on Airline Highway Thursday night.
What state police have and have not said so far
Louisiana State Police have confirmed the location, timing and basic sequence of the collision, but many questions remain unanswered. They have not said how fast the pickup was traveling or whether the pedestrian could have been seen before the impact.
Officials also have not said whether any road conditions, distractions or other factors contributed to the deadly crash. What is clear is that a man walking in the northbound lane was struck and later died.
The investigation is continuing in Ascension Parish as troopers work to determine the circumstances behind the fatal pedestrian crash near Sorrento.
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