Lafayette, La. (KLFY) — Authorities are reporting that three people, including one child, have died in weather-related incidents in Louisiana in the past 24 hours.
According to WAFB TV, an 84-year-old man was found dead Tuesday night in a house with no working heat.
Officials with the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office say they received a call from a concerned neighbor around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 17. When they arrived, they discovered the man, identified as Paul Maker, dead on the floor of the home.
The coroner’s office says the cause of death was hypothermia.
The man’s wife is being treated at a local hospital. Both are wheelchair-bound, according to WAFB TV.
Officials say the couple’s house did have power, but no heat. They also reportedly had a space heater, but were not using it.
And, the office of the State Fire Marshals’ Office has reported that a firefighter was killed in West Feliciana Parish Wednesday after he was struck by a vehicle that slid on ice while responding to a scene of a house fire.
The incident happened around 9 a.m. on U.S. 61 north of LA 421 near St. Francisville.
State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says the firefighter, who was with the West Feliciana Fire Protection District, was struck by a secondary vehicle working a crash on U.S. 61 The firefighter was pronounced dead at a local hospital. He has been identified as Wakefield Fire Chief Russell Achord, 48.
The initial investigation revealed the West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Wakefield Fire Department were investigating a wreck in the southbound lanes of U.S. 61, while at the same time, Robert McCoy, 51, of Tallulah, was driving southbound on U.S. 61 in a 2018 Dodge Ram 5500 pulling a trailer. McCoy lost control of his truck on the icy road as he approached the scene of the wreck. His truck hit multiple first responder vehicles and Achord as he was helping one of the drivers on the scene.
Achord sustained serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. McCoy was wearing his seat belt at the time of the wreck and was not injured.
Browning says both crashes are currently under investigation by Louisiana State Police. Authorities say icy roadway conditions were a factor in both crashes.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of this dedicated firefighter, as well as to his fire service family and the community of West Feliciana Parish,” Browning said in a statement.
Authorities in Jefferson Parish were on the scene where a mother and her child crashed their SUV into the canal.
The 8-month-old later died at the hospital.
The crash happened at Wilson and West Esplanade around 10 a.m.
The mother and the child were pulled from the submerged SUV according to Jefferson Parish officials.
The child has been identified as Kollage Le-Silva.
The female victim is in critical condition.