SUV strikes and kills south Baton Rouge pedestrian
A sport utility vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian Friday night on Airline Highway in south Baton Rouge, a State Police spokesman said.
Trooper Russell Graham reported in a news release Saturday that the driver, a 17-year-old girl, was found not to be at fault in the accident.
She was driving a Toyota 4-Runner south in the right lane on Airline Highway (U.S. 61) near Alco Avenue shortly after 9 p.m. when the pedestrian, Courtney Rainey, 33, stepped in the Toyota’s path, Graham said.
Rainey was taken to a hospital where she later died, he said.
The driver submitted to a breath test that showed she had no detectable alcohol in her system, Graham said.
Troopers submitted a sample of Rainey’s blood to test whether alcohol was a factor on her part.
Graham said a “large percentage” of pedestrian deaths and injuries in Louisiana are due to impairment on the part of the driver, pedestrian, or both.