DEQUINCY, La. (KPLC) - A suspected drunk driver is behind bars after failing to stop for a train, causing a crash that killed his wife, police said.
David Wayne Richard, 35, of Beaumont, was driving under the influence around midnight Sunday when he went around the guardrail at the railroad crossing on Fourth Street, Louisiana State Police Troop D spokesperson Matt Gaspard said. The car was hit by a train on the passenger side, sending it into a ditch.
Richard survived the crash and was able to get out, but his wife, Susan Garcia, 35, died in the car.
“As far as I’m aware, she’s got two teenagers at home that’s now lost their mom. Dad’s now out of the picture for the moment. It’s just not worth it. Slow down, wait, the train will go by in just a couple minutes,” DeQuincy Police Chief AnnaJo Haynes said.
Haynes said this was the first train crash in her six years on the force and the first deadly train crash in more than a decade.
Richard was taken to a hospital, where he was found to be impaired, and later booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center.
He does not have a driver’s license and was found only with an expired ID, Haynes said.
Richard faces the following charges:
- Second-offense DWI
- Vehicular homicide
- Failure to report violations of not obeying a signal indicating an approaching train
- Possession of alcoholic beverages in motor vehicles
- Driver must be licensed.
His bond is set at $210,000.
Richard’s booking photo will be added to this story when we receive it from law enforcement.