re: Anyone remember a traffic crash on Drusilla Ln in the late 80s that killed like 5 teens?

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3.4 T hree days before the accident, the Louisiana House approved HB194. Under the bill, children 6 and under would be prohibited from riding in the back of pickup trucks and utility vans. The bill is being considered by the state Senate.

The bill's author, Rep. Quentin Dastugue, R-Metairie, said the impetus for the bill was an accident in east New Orleans in which three small children were hurled from the back of a pickup truck. One of the toddlers was killed; the other two were badly injured.

Dastugue said the bill's age limit was set at 6 and under to correspond with the age that children must be placed in child-restraint seats.

Efforts by legislators to raise the age limit to 12 or 18 met stiff resistance.

"If you are old enough to get a license to drive an automobile, you ought to have more sense that to climb into the back of a pickup," Dastugue said.

Representatives from rural areas, like James David Cain, D-Dry Creek, did not favor passing any type of legislation.

Cain said he knows many rural families whose only means of transportation is a pickup truck. He said families often drive 10 miles or more to church each Sunday, and it would be unfair to force them to make two trips.

Dastugue and Cain agree on one point. As Dastugue put it:

"You can pass all the laws in the world, but individuals still do stupid things all the time."

About 30 hours after the accident, Officer Dyess was stopped at a traffic light at the bottom of the Interstate 12 exit ramp at Sherwood Forest.

As he waited for the light to change, a low-riding red pickup truck sped by. Dyess estimated the truck was traveling about 45 or 50 mph in a 35-mph zone. Two teen-age boys were in the cab. Three other teens were riding in the truck bed.

"I was a little infuriated, a little upset," Dyess said. "I was sure every kid in Baton Rouge had heard about" the Drusilla Lane accident.

The officer pulled over the truck and asked the driver:

"Did you hear about the kids on Drusilla Lane?"

The driver responded that he did know of the wreck.

"Do you think it's a shame?" the officer asked.

"Yes, I do," the teen-ager replied. "I guess I'm just stupid."

"I don't know if you're stupid or not," Dyess said.

The officer did not write the driver a ticket because he was unable to clock how fast the truck was going. He did order the three teens in the truck bed to climb out and find another ride home.

"I went home with a peace of mind, that these kids were going to get home safely," Dyess said. "... If I didn't do anything, I wouldn't have slept that night."

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