We read every fatal crash news release Louisiana State Police Troop L published between June 2024 and July 2026 — 79 releases covering St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington and St. Helena Parishes — and coded each one by parish, who died, and the contributing factors troopers named. Three findings stood out, and one of them is something we have not seen written about anywhere.
Finding 1: More than a quarter of the people killed were not in a vehicle
Of 79 fatal crashes, 22 killed a pedestrian, bicyclist or motorcyclist — 27.8%. Twelve were pedestrians.
| Who was killed | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | 49 | 62.0% |
| Pedestrian | 12 | 15.2% |
| Motorcyclist | 7 | 8.9% |
| Passenger | 5 | 6.3% |
| Other occupant | 3 | 3.8% |
| Bicyclist | 3 | 3.8% |
That proportion is high, and it reframes what “traffic safety” means on the Northshore. More than one in four of these deaths involved someone with no vehicle around them at all. Our roads here — LA-21, LA-59, LA-36, US-190, US-51 — are largely two-lane highways with narrow shoulders, deep ditches, limited lighting, and in many stretches no sidewalk of any kind.
Finding 2: Troopers named an unrestrained occupant in one of every four crashes
Seat belts appeared in 19 of 79 releases — 24.1%. LSP puts it in the headline: “Unrestrained Driver Killed,” “Unrestrained Passenger Killed.” No other factor came close.
| Factor named by LSP | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Unrestrained occupant | 19 | 24.1% |
| Impairment / vehicular homicide | 5 | 6.3% |
| Secondary crash | 4 | 5.1% |
| Head-on collision | 2 | 2.5% |
| Hit-and-run | 2 | 2.5% |
| Excessive speed | 2 | 2.5% |
| Improper child restraint | 1 | 1.3% |
| Fleeing law enforcement | 1 | 1.3% |
A note on reading this table: these are factors troopers chose to name publicly, not a complete causation analysis. Impairment in particular is almost certainly understated here, because toxicology results are not available when a release is written. What the table does show is what investigators considered notable enough to lead with.
There is a legal wrinkle worth knowing. Louisiana used to bar evidence of seat belt non-use in civil cases under La. R.S. 32:295.1(E). That provision was repealed effective January 1, 2021. The statutory shield is gone, and in a case where LSP has publicly stated an occupant was unrestrained, expect the defense to use it.
Finding 3: Four pedestrians were killed in secondary crashes
This is the finding we did not expect. Four separate releases in this window describe a pedestrian killed in a secondary crash — struck by a second vehicle after an initial collision had already occurred:
- October 6, 2024 — Tangipahoa Parish
- October 19, 2024 — Tangipahoa Parish
- March 9, 2025 — St. Tammany Parish
- March 29, 2026 — Tangipahoa Parish
That is 5% of all fatal crashes in the region over two years, and one third of all pedestrian deaths. These were not people walking along a road at night. In the typical pattern, a crash happens, someone gets out of their vehicle, and a second driver — who did not expect a person standing in a travel lane — hits them.
It is also the most preventable category on this list. If you are in a collision and the vehicle is drivable, move it out of the travel lane. If it is not drivable and you are able to move, get behind a barrier or well off the roadway. Do not stand beside your car in a live lane exchanging information, and do not walk the roadway looking at damage. Every one of these four people survived the first crash.
Finding 4: Where they happened
| Parish | Fatal crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| St. Tammany | 32 | 40.5% |
| Tangipahoa | 25 | 31.6% |
| Washington | 15 | 19.0% |
| St. Helena | 7 | 8.9% |
St. Tammany accounted for the largest share, which broadly tracks population. Tangipahoa’s 31.6% is disproportionately high relative to its population — consistent with the I-12 and I-55 freight interchange at Hammond and the US-51 corridor carrying traffic parallel to the interstate.
Reminder on venue: St. Tammany and Washington Parish cases are filed in the 22nd Judicial District Court in Covington. Tangipahoa and St. Helena cases go to the 21st JDC in Amite. Different courthouse, different jury pool.
Finding 5: July, October, December and March were the worst months
| Month | Fatal crashes (2 years) |
|---|---|
| July | 11 |
| October | 11 |
| March | 10 |
| December | 10 |
| May | 8 |
| April | 7 |
| June | 5 |
| September | 5 |
| November | 5 |
| January | 4 |
| August | 3 |
| February | 0 |
July and October tied at 11 each, with December at 10 and March at 10. February recorded none in either year. With a sample of 79 spread across twelve months, individual months should not be over-read — but the clustering in summer and late autumn is consistent with what traffic safety research generally finds about travel volume and after-dark driving.
Methodology, and what this does not measure
We reviewed all Troop L news releases published on lsp.org from June 23, 2024 through July 27, 2026 and included every release describing a fatal motor vehicle crash. Releases describing non-crash matters were excluded. Update releases about a previously reported crash were merged with the original so no crash is counted twice. Each release was coded by parish, victim type, and any contributing factor stated by troopers.
Three limitations matter, and we would rather state them than have someone else find them:
- This is not every fatal crash in the region. Louisiana State Police investigate crashes on interstates and state highways and assist local agencies on request. Fatal crashes handled entirely by municipal police or a sheriff’s office may not generate an LSP release. The true regional total is higher than 79.
- We counted crashes, not fatalities. Several releases describe multiple deaths — one December 2024 Washington Parish crash killed three people. Counting deaths rather than crashes would produce a higher number.
- Contributing factors are preliminary. These come from initial investigations. Toxicology takes weeks, so impairment is very likely understated.
We deliberately did not use Louisiana’s most detailed crash dataset, maintained by LSU’s Center for Analytics & Research in Transportation Safety. That data is designated confidential under 23 U.S.C. § 407 and its custodians ask to be contacted before any release. Everything above comes from public police press releases written for public consumption.
Journalists and researchers: the underlying coded dataset is available on request. Please cite as: Kervin Law LLC, “Two Years of Fatal Crashes on the Louisiana Northshore,” July 2026, compiled from Louisiana State Police Troop L news releases.
What this means if you have been in a crash here
Three practical points come directly out of the data.
Get out of the roadway. The secondary crash finding is the most actionable thing in this study. Surviving the first impact is not the end of the danger.
Seat belt use is now part of the legal picture. With the statutory shield repealed since 2021, restraint use affects both survival and the claim that follows.
Fault is now decisive in a way it was not two years ago. For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, Louisiana applies a 51% comparative fault bar — a person found 51% or more at fault recovers nothing at all. In pedestrian and motorcycle cases, where fault is routinely contested and the person who could explain what happened is often the one who did not survive, that threshold decides cases.
Talk to a Northshore injury attorney
Kervin Law LLC is a plaintiff-only personal injury firm in Folsom, Louisiana, led by David D. Kervin, Jr. We represent people injured in car and truck crashes, and families in fatal crash cases, across St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington Parish. Free consultation, no upfront cost, no fee unless we win. Call or text (985) 888-0640.
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Reviewed by David Kervin, attorney licensed in Louisiana · Last updated
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