BR man booked in crash that kills girl
A Baton Rouge man accused of causing a fatal crash in August that killed a 10-year-old girl was driving with a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit, according to court records.
Thomas Allen III, 48, 1464 Jordan St., was booked Thursday on counts including vehicular homicide, second-offense DWI, reckless operation and driving with a suspended license, Parish Prison records show.
A warrant issued Tuesday alleges Allen had been fleeing a hit-and-run crash on Plank Road when he turned on to Shelley Street and struck another car head-on, killing 10-year-old Brionna Scott.
The girl, who had been riding in the front seat “unsecured,” died of her injuries at a local hospital, the warrant says. Scott’s mother, Kalina Mercier, said her daughter was wearing a lap belt but not the shoulder belt, adding the girl had just bent over to pick up some money when the crash occurred.
She estimated Allen was driving 90 mph when he struck them head-on.
Scott had been a student at Winbourne Elementary School, Mercier said.
“It’s about time,” she said of Allen’s arrest.
A police officer who spoke with Allen at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center noticed Allen had “red bloodshot eyes” and seemed intoxicated, the warrant says.
The officer, Cpl. Mickey Duncan, ordered blood be drawn from Allen, the warrant says. An analysis completed by the State Police Crime Lab found Allen’s blood-alcohol content to be 0.23 percent nearly three hours after the crash, the warrant says.
Mercier said she was seriously injured in the crash and required multiple surgeries.
“I’m not bitter because he didn’t intentionally do it,” Mercier said of Allen. “I’m just mad that he was drinking and driving.”