PRAIRIEVILLE — An Amite man was killed in a head-on crash early Friday morning on I-10 East near mile marker 171 in Ascension Parish. The wreck occurred near a stretch of highway marked by several white crosses, silent reminders of previous fatal crashes at the same location on this stretch of interstate.
According to Louisiana State Police, the victim has been identified as 39-year-old James Burns of Amite.
Traffic was backed up for hours as crews shut down a stretch of I-10 between Highland Road and Dutchtown to respond to the crash, disrupting morning commutes for drivers in both Baton Rouge and Ascension Parish.
Around 1:30 a.m., a 2013 Freightliner tractor-trailer was traveling eastbound on I-10 when Burns, driving a 2022 GMC Sierra, entered the eastbound lanes traveling west.
The vehicles collided head-on, and Burns’ GMC became engulfed in flames, according to LSP.
Burns was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The driver of the Freightliner, who was wearing a seatbelt, sustained moderate injuries and was transported to a local hospital.
Routine toxicology samples were collected and submitted for analysis. The investigation remains ongoing.
This stretch of I-10 was also the site of a deadly fiery crash in 2011, when a road-rage incident claimed the lives of five people, including three young boys. Five white crosses still stand along the roadside as a memorial to the victims. There have been other deadly crashes in this area as well.
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