quote:
How much attenuation could there be, with only 56 minutes from the time she got in the car until the time the cops were called after she was hit by the car?

Not a cop out but I don't know the reasonably supported timeline well enough to venture a guess, nor do I know what the typical jury charge for felony murder is in Louisiana.

In general, most jurisdictions don't require a lot of separation to break the felony murder chain. While it is not controlling the most cited case is one out of a Cali appeals court from about 10-12 years ago and IIRC it is State v Young. The court makes a big deal out of safety. So if bank robbers (most used in felony murder hypos) get back to their rally point without the police in hot pursuit the tether is broken.

I'll try to tighten down the hypotheticals so you can apply the facts as you understand them.

Hypo 1:

While taking her to drop her off they one or more of them are still sexually assaulting her in a way that constitutes a felony. When the vehicle stops she hits one of them escapes the vehicle runs into the street and is hit. Felony murder almost certainly attaches.

Hypo 2:

They finish raping her and drive 2 miles and stop and let her out of the vehicle maybe at a spot she chooses. She gets out and they drive off and there is no indication they are following her. She decides to walk 4 blocks to her best friend's apartment and 3 blocks away she crosses a street and is hit. Much lower chance that felony murder attaches.

One thing to keep in mind is because felony murder is essentially a legal fiction courts are reluctant to stretch the connection significantly. In most cases, the connection is very limited and especially so in a case like this where the victim is "free" and there is no (apparent) attempt to continue the felony. Also, it is probably not in the prosecution's best interest to muddy the waters with a felony murder charge unless the rape is a slam dunk.