Icy weather pile-up deadly for Texas man

The Iberville Sheriff's Office pronounced a Texas man dead at the scene of a crash involving a pick-up truck and three 18-wheelers  shortly after midnight Friday on Interstate 10 eastbound near Ramah, Louisiana Troop A reported.

Troopers suspect that the roadway condition was a contributing factor to the crash, which remains under investigation. I-10 was closed to traffic until 10 a.m. Friday, four hours after the wreckage was cleared, because of black ice on the Whiskey Bay Bridge, Troop A said in a news release.

Troopers’ preliminary investigation showed Jonas Richmond, 39, of Roanoke, Texas, was driving a 2004 Ford pickup east on Interstate 10 near milepost 135 when he lost control of the vehicle and struck the guardrail. The pickup came to rest in the inside eastbound lane with the passenger side facing on-coming traffic.

Richmond stepped out of  the truck and stood next to the driver’s door just before a 2001 Freightliner truck, driven by Anthony Lang, 53, of Rome, Georgia, struck the passenger side of the pickup. The pickup struck Richmond and continued rolling east on the roadway.

Just after the collision, a 2009 International truck driven by Ronnie Davis. 46, of Rex, Georgia came to a controlled stop but  was struck from behind by a 2011 Peterbuilt truck, driven by John Scott, 49, of Baton Rouge, pushing Davis truck into the previous crash.

Richmond was fatally injured.

Alcohol is not suspected to have played a factor in this crash, but troopers submitted a sample of Richmond’s blood to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab for chemical analysis. Breath samples from the three other drivers each showed no detectable alcohol in their systems.