UPDATE
DUTCHTOWN — A man hit by a car on April 29 in Dutchtown, died from his injuries a little over a week later.
Darryl West was hit on Hwy. 74 near the Hwy. 73 intersection near Dutchtown High School.
West suffered multiple injuries and underwent at least five surgeries before he died on May 7 at the hospital.
Haley & Associates, the law firm representing West’s family, will hold a press conference on May 8th at 2:30 p.m. at their law firm, 8211 Goodwood Blvd. Suite E in Baton Rouge to discuss several components of the case.
ORIGINAL STORY
According to witnesses who spoke with Unfiltered with Kiran, Darryl West was hit by a car while he was with someone walking to his aunt’s home. West had reportedly already crossed the street and was off to the side of the road when he was hit.
The incident happened around 9:30 p.m. April 29 on Hwy. 74 near the Hwy. 73 intersection in Geismar, this is near Dutchtown High School and across from Alexander’s Supermarket.
“There was the person who was out there with him and they had other people outside, so they do have witnesses and everything,” Darryl’s sister Erykah West explained. “When the police got there, they didn’t handcuff her. They didn’t use a breathalyzer or run any kind of test on her to see if she was drunk, high, or anything like that. They made it seem like she was the victim. They ran up to her talking to her and everything, and they just had my brother lying on the ground.”
Since the accident, Darryl has undergone five surgeries and is now stable. Erykah said the internal bleeding finally stopped after the fifth surgery, but they will know more following X-rays. Darryl is on dialysis for his kidneys and is on a ventilator. He also has two broken legs, a broken wrist, and a broken arm.
Erykah said she was referred to the state police, who are investigating the accident, but she has not received any information. She said authorities have not reached out to them.
As of Tuesday morning, a state police spokesperson said no citations were given in the incident.
“I feel like if the shoe were on the other foot, my brother would be in jail right now,” Erykah West said. “She didn’t go to jail or anything. It seems like she’s not paying for anything, and he’s suffering.”
One witness said when West was hit, it sounded like a gunshot.
“I was sitting in the parking lot at the dollar store (Family Dollar) with the windows down waiting for my niece to come out of the store when I saw him (West) walking out,” the witness said. “Then I heard a loud pop. It sounded like a gunshot. I started ducking, thinking someone was shooting.
“When I got there (the scene), they had people standing around, but they weren’t really helping him, I guess because they didn’t know what to do,” the witness added. “When I walked up to him, he was shaking, and he was trying to say something. I just kept telling him to calm down and don’t try to talk.”
Erykah West said more should have been done.
“I feel like (law enforcement) failed to protect and serve,” Erykah stated. “I felt like they could’ve done more about this.”
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If the man hit by the driver was not in the road and was on the side of the roadway. This means they had to have crossed the white line. Therefore, the driver should have been ticketed and possibly given a field sobriety test. However, this doesn’t mean the injured party can’t still sue the insurance company of the driver.
correction: This means the DRIVER must have crossed the white line of the roadway to hit this man, if he was on the side of the roadway and NOT in the roadway.
A truly tragic reminder cops have ZERO constitutional or statutory duty to protect anyone.