An 11-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene of a single-vehicle crash that happened early Saturday morning on Louisiana Highway 802, about 2.5 miles east of US 37, in Webster Parish, Louisiana. KTBS 3 News reported that around 4:15 a.m., Clark James Davis was driving a 1993 Ford Ranger pick-up truck at a high rate of speed when he suddenly veered off the road for unknown reasons and struck a tree.
Officers with the Webster Parish Police Department were called to the scene of the car crash on LA 802 where they found Clark. He apparently wasn’t wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and was thrown from the truck. Clark sustained serious injuries and was pronounced dead by the Webster Parish Coroner’s Office.
In a news release, Louisiana State Police Trooper Glenn Younger stated that there was no one else in the vehicle with Clark when he slammed into a tree. He went on to say that Webster Parish Police officials uncovered that the vehicle the boy was driving was registered in Shongaloo, which is about eight miles east of the crash site.
They did not say who the vehicle belongs to.
Although officials released where Clark was from, they have yet to mention where he was residing or if it was close to Louisiana Highway 802, where he crashed.
11-year-old dies after driving truck into tree https://t.co/nx7WpuT9Ee
— NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) March 31, 2018
After learning about Clark’s untimely and tragic death, social media users questioned how the boy was able to get ahold of the vehicle, but it is unknown why the boy was driving the truck underage, and why he was out at that time alone, in the dark.
A preliminary investigation determined that impairment is not suspected, but speed may have played a role in the Webster Parish deadly car accident. Deputies with the Louisiana State Police Department are conducting an investigation to determine what may have caused Clark to veer off the road.
Further details surrounding the LA 802 crash have not been released.
In a Facebook post, the Louisiana State Police reminded motorists that speeding can prevent drivers from being able to steer safely around curves or objects in the roadway. The post goes on to say that “speeding also extends the distance necessary to stop a vehicle and can lead to a more serious collision in cases where the vehicle strikes another object.”
Troopers ask that you remain mindful of the speed limits and always wear a seatbelt.
