BATON ROUGE. — Jeanette Soularie said she feared for her son Jayrick Washington when he told her he was leaving his hometown of Jennings to live in Baton Rouge to attend Southern University.
Her worst fears were confirmed on Saturday.
She said her son was driving on I-110 heading to work at the Walmart in Baker when someone shot into his vehicle. The gunshot wounds caused Washington to veer off the road and slam into a tree. He died at the scene.
His death was ruled a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds and multiple blunt force injuries due to the crash.
The accident happened just after 1 p.m. by Memorial Stadium and the Fuqua/Scenic exit area.
“The only thing (law enforcement) has told me is that his car was mistaken for someone else,” Soularie said. “I want them to find out who did this to him. He didn’t deserve it. He was a sweet and loving child. He put a smile on everyone’s face.”
Washington’s 19th birthday is March 28. He was a freshman at Southern, where he started in January to study business administration. Washington graduated from Jennings High School last year. He had five siblings, a nephew, and a niece, and he was loved by everyone.
“He was a loving and silly kid,” Soularie said. “Nobody was a stranger to him. He loved everybody. He made everybody happy. He was so loving and always had a big smile on his face. He loved to drive. He loved his little Honda.”
Soularie said her son could have been rushing to make it to work on time.
“He drives fast,” she said. “He was Speedy Gonzales. I stayed fussing at him to slow down. I think he probably was rushing to get to work and from my understanding of what they said, he drove in front of someone or something. They thought he was somebody else and chased him down, thinking he was trying to mess with them, but he was just trying to get to work.”
Soularie said she hoped the person who killed her son would come forward.
“If anybody knows anything, please come forward,” she pleaded. “He didn’t deserve this, and whoever did it for the lord to convict them and put it on their heart to turn themselves in. He didn’t bother anybody. He was trying to do something in life. He wanted to make me so proud, and he did. He made me so proud.”
Baton Rouge Police is investigating the homicide. So far a suspect has not been identified, and BRPD has not released any details on the other vehicle involved. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 344-STOP. You can also submit a tip online.
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