A truck driver Clyde Gay, 62, from Coushatta faces charges for killing 3 university students changing a tire along I-49, Louisiana. Tyran Williams, 19, from Dallas, Texas, Dylan Young, 21, from Dallas, Texas, and Broderick Moore, 19, from Cedar Hill, Texas, members of the Southern University Human Jukebox Marching band were struck and killed by an 18-wheeler driven by Gay on December 6, 2022, between 7 pm and 8 pm.
According to the Louisiana State Police, the accident occurred on I-49 north of Natchitoches. Three students were traveling home where they planned to spend the holidays with family. They stopped the vehicle on the northbound shoulder due to a flat tire. While attempting to change the flat tire on a 1999 Jeep Laredo, they were struck by Gay’s truck.
The police investigation still hasn’t revealed why the 1997 Freightliner driven by Clyde Gay in the northbound swerved onto the northbound shoulder, where the Jeep was located. The semi-truck hit the left side of the Jeep and impacted all three occupants who were out of the vehicle at the time. One of the students was talking on the phone at the time of the collision. The person he was talking to called the police.
All three university students from the Jeep suffered injuries in this collision, resulting in death. The truck driver, Clyde Gay, was not injured in the crash. He was wearing a seat belt, which saved him.
Blood toxicology tests showed that Gay was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The investigators gathered enough evidence to indict the driver of the 18-wheeler. Clyde Gay was arrested on January 12, 2023, and booked into the Natchitoches Parish Jail. He was charged with three counts of negligent homicide. The bond was set at $300,000. Gay has been in jail since Friday, Jan. 20.
Director of Bands at Southern University and A&M College, Kedric Taylor stated that one dead student was a percussionist and two were tuba players.
The SU System Foundation established a fund in honor and memory of the dead students. The fund will be used as assistance to the families of the deceased. Those who wish to donate funds can do so on the foundation’s website.
Troop E Troopers emphasize that there were 51 traffic accidents similar to this one, with a death toll is 55 people.
