An Oak Grove, La., man accused of driving drunk and causing a crash that killed a North Carolina woman was held without bail this morning.
James Bell, 43, of Oak Grove, was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide and two counts of negligent injury in a crash that occurred shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday on Louisiana 2 west of Oak Grove, Louisiana State Police spokesman Michael Reichardt said.
The crash killed Lydia Snyder, a North Carolina woman who was in her early 30s, he said.
“James Bell was impaired at the time of the crash and arrested,” Reichardt said.
Snyder was killed when Bell’s eastbound 2013 Ford F150 struck a 2011 Nissan she was a passenger in. The F150 crossed the centerline of the highway before striking the Nissan, Reichardt said.
Snyder was a passenger in a vehicle driven by 22-year-old Gabriel Snyder, also of North Carolina. Snyder. She was pronounced dead at the crash site, and both were wearing seat belts.
Gabriel Snyder and a 5-year-old passenger in the F-150 were taken to hospitals “for serious injuries,” he said.
The relationship between the Snyders was not clear, Reichardt said.
The child was properly restrained in a booster seat at the time of the crash, according to LSP reports.
Vehicular homicide carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison under Louisiana State Law.