Tragic End for a St. Mary Parish Man Who Simply Had Car Trouble

Another heartbreaking tragedy has happened on Acadiana's roadways. Louisiana State Police Spokesman Trooper Thomas Gossen says a man died on Highway 90 near Amelia after trying to fix his disabled vehicle.

The details are gut-wrenching. According to officials, 51-year-old Kumaravel Nadar of Morgan City was driving his vehicle on Highway 90 when it became disabled. He moved the vehicle to the shoulder of the roadway, and according to Gossen, he went to get another vehicle to see if he could use jumper cables to get the original vehicles up and running. Nadar parked the second vehicle, a Toyota Highlander "across the westbound outside lane". The vehicle was then hit by a truck.

Gossen says the two vehicles collided sending the Highlander turning over, and when that happened, Nadar was partially ejected from the Highlander. Nadar was not wearing his seatbelt while in the Highlander, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The person in the truck was wearing a seatbelt and had minor injuries. Gossen says the crash is still under investigation. Standard toxicology samples were taken from Nadar and the driver of the truck, which is routine in a fatality case. Results of those tests will be released when the tests are conducted and completed.

The fatal crash happened at around 11:30 Wednesday night on Highway 90 near Highway 662. To date, Gossen says they have investigated sixty fatal crashes in the Troop I area (primarily Acadiana) this year. Because of the crashes, there have been seventy-one deaths.