A bus chartered to transport volunteers helping out Louisiana flood victims crashed into a fire truck and left two people dead. The bus was driven by 37-year-old immigrant Denis Amaya Rodriguez, who was in the United States illegally and was not licensed to drive the bus, according to police.
The bus crashed on Interstate 10 in LaPlace and stuck a fire truck that was stopped and attending to an accident, knocking three firefighters over a guardrail and killing Spencer Chauvin, the district fire chief of the St. John the Baptist Parish Office of Fire Services.
Below, district fire chief Spencer Chauvin.
Image from Acadian Ambulance Service.
The New York Daily News reports, “The out-of-control bus blasted through, crashing into the fire engine that was blocking the roadway, swerving across traffic, smashing a Camry before hitting Chauvin and two firefighters over the side of a guardrail into the water about 30 to 40 feet below.”
“It is a sad day in St John the Baptist Parish as we lost one of the bravest and most dedicated firefighters that I know,” parish president Natalie Robottom said in a statement.
“This was a horrific accident and one that is still very active. This type of loss will affect the entire department and they will have our full support as they deal with the grief of losing a comrade.”
In total, 41 people were injured including every passenger on the bus.
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