Alcohol Suspected in Deadly Weekend Crashes

Alcohol is suspected in two deadly crashes over the weekend.

First, a Church Point man is dead while another is in critical condition facing and vehicular homicide charges following a crash on LA Highway 35 near Noel Road.  St. Landry’s parish deputies say Brad Wheeler was driving a truck when he hit a culvert and flipped.

He and his passenger, Curtis Wheeler, weren’t wearing seatbelts and were thrown.  Curtis died.  Brad is in critical condition.

Troopers suspect alcohol and speed were factors in this crash.

And a child is dead after an accident in Rapides Parish on Sugartown and Booster Wright Roads Friday.

Deputies say 43-year-old William Antee of Boyce was driving with three children in his all terrain vehicle.  He apparently lost control and flipped, killing a four year old named Mia Castillo.

Routine toxicology tests are pending and the crash is under investigation.

This accident has the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office asking people to be more careful on all terrain vehicles.  Sheriff William Earl Hilton and Major Mark Wood say always put safety first when operating ATV’s.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says there have been 11,688 ATV-related fatalities in the US between 1982 and 2011.  More than 12 hundred of these fatalities were kids 12 and under.

KLAX ABC 31 News 3/3/14