Zachary police release details about fiery crash involving unmarked police unit
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Zachary Police Department released a report regarding the two-vehicle crash that included an unmarked police unit on Sunday, March 16.
A ZPD officer responded around 11:45 p.m. to the 4800 block of Zachary-Slaughter Highway and LA Highway 19. The officer was told before arriving at the scene that the police unit was on fire. A bystander was found with one of the crash victims, and another man was seen raking items out of his unmarked police unit, which was on fire.
Baton Rouge police officer Loren Gaskin, 31, of Slaughter, was getting all of the ammunition out of his car while bleeding heavily from his head, according to ZPD. He was taken to the hospital.
The second crash victim, identified as Arrari Russ, 39, of Centreville, Mississippi, needed medical assistance due to a concussion. He was also taken to a hospital. ZPD said the responding officer heard the medic say that Russ smelled like alcohol.
Gaskin told the Zachary police officer he was driving north on Highway 19 while the other car was southbound in the northbound lane. He said he went into the southbound lane to avoid a crash, and the other car did the same, leading to the head-on collision. Both vehicles involved in the crash sustained damage to the front passenger side.
According to the report, a vodka bottle and Twisted Tea cans were found on the ground between both cars and under Gaskin's vehicle. The cans were unopened, and the officer could not determine whether the vodka bottle was open. Zachary PD said Gaskin did not appear to be impaired, and there was no odor of alcohol coming from him.
Russ gave a statement to police on Thursday, March 20, telling investigators he was driving south on the roadway before the crash. Video footage showed Gaskin heading north in the northbound lane and Russ going south in the northbound lane.
Police said an investigation is ongoing.
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