Fiery Big Rig Crash in Louisiana Leaves Four Dead

Four people were killed Friday as the result of a fiery crash on Interstate 10 involving three 18-wheelers and an SUV.  The fatal semi truck accident happened just east of Louisiana Highway 77 interchange near the Grosse Tete exit.  Grosse Tete is approximately 20 miles from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

A Baton Rouge Police officer was among those killed.  Our thoughts go out to the family, friends and fellow police officers of Russell Kiger, 37, who was off duty in a personal vehicle with his cousin, Jacob Kiger, 38.  Both men died at the scene of Friday’s Semi-truck crash.  Officer Kiger was a 2-year veteran of the department and a former deputy with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office.  Funeral arrangements are pending.

An eastbound 18-wheeler sideswiped another big rig that was stopped on the shoulder in the early morning hours last Friday.  The driver lost control, crossed the median and collided head-on into a third 18-wheeler.  That second collision caused a fire.

The driver of the eastbound tractor-trailer, Mark Woodard, 34, of Denham Springs, and the driver of the westbound truck, Freddy Guerra, 52, of Edinburg, Texas, were also killed.  A 15-year-old girl was riding in the sleeper cab of Woodard’s 18-wheeler and she was asleep at the time the crash.  Thankfully, she was only minorly injured and.

The driver of the tractor-trailer that was parked on the shoulder, Jose Ramierz, 48, was asleep in the cab and not injured. State police cited him for failure to properly display warning devices for a disabled vehicle on the shoulder.

The crash remains under investigation.