Truck hits pedestrian, house
WALKER — A pedestrian died Monday afternoon when a truck struck him, then rammed into a house, State Police confirmed.
Ronald Farris, 55, of Walker, was standing beside another vehicle when it was struck by a pickup that then veered into Farris, ran through a ditch and struck the house, said Russell Graham, a State Police spokesman.
The driver of the vehicle that Farris was standing next to returned and left the scene, and authorities are now looking for a white Ford Expedition with damage to the rear, including
extensive damage to the right-rear tail-light assembly, Graham said.
The incident occurred about 2 p.m. on La. 447 about a mile north of Cane Market Road.
Melissa Forbes said she was knocked from the recliner in her house by the impact of the truck that ran into her wall.
She said she heard no tires screeching and had no forewarning of the wreck.
Forbes said she ran outside and saw the driver getting out of the truck, but didn’t see the other vehicle the State Police said had left the scene.
Forbes said the young driver looked frantic, and she tried to calm him. She said she then realized that a pedestrian had been struck.
The driver of the pickup, Joshua Benoit, 25, of Elizabeth, suffered nonlife-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital, according to a State Police news release.
An official from the Livingston Parish Coroner’s Office pronounced Farris dead at the scene, Graham said.
Forbes said the victim was a nice man who often walked along the road to a nearby store.
She said she sometimes would give Farris a ride there.
“He was a very compassionate man,” who loved his little dogs, she said.
Forbes said she immediately waved down a constable who happened to be passing.
She said speed is often a problem on the straight stretch of road where she lives, but she has no idea how fast the truck was going.
State Police asked anyone with information about the wreck to call (225) 754-8500.
Graham said the investigation is continuing and no arrests have been made.