SLIDELL, La. — Slidell's Police Chief is furious and frustrated after several suspected impaired driving accidents. Some victims are injured, others did not survive.
Saturday morning, 63-year-old Byron Rhodes was on his way to work his final weekend as a cab driver before retiring. He never made it to work that shift after he was hit and killed by a suspected impaired driver on Highway 190.
"He was on his way to work for his last shift this weekend," said Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal. "He was going to retire as of today."
Police say an SUV driven by 27-year-old Kevin Lewis crossed the center divider and struck Rhodes' truck. Lewis was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide, possession of a schedule 1 narcotic, possession of drug paraphernalia and improper lane usage.
Just a few days earlier at a roundabout on Robert Blvd in Slidell, a 17-year-old student driver and her instructor were hit head on by a suspected impaired driver.
"She was actually doing her last drive before she got her license," Allison Lefrere said about her daughter, Moriah Lefrere.
According to Lefrere, Moriah has a fractured femur, foot, and jaw that will require surgery.
"There's moments where she's in so much pain and as a mom it's really heartbreaking to see your child like that," Lefrere said.
GoFundMe pages are flooded with donations for Lefrere and her instructor who was also critically injured. Both are expected to survive.
"We're very blessed our daughter is still alive. It could have been so much worse," Lefrere said.
According to the Slidell Police, 34-year-old Jarrod Sciacca was driving in the wrong lane on Robert Boulevard Thursday night when he struck the student driver head on at an estimated 50-60 mph.
Also this weekend, other law enforcement agencies worked a fatal accident in a subdivision in Slidell and a fatal accident on I-12.
"All of those crashes, suspected driving under the influence," Chief Fandal said.
Fandal expressed his frustration, saying there are no excuses.
"It's inexcusable for anyone to get behind the wheel and drive their vehicle under the influence of alcohol or narcotics when you have Uber, Lyft, cabs," Fandal said.
He's adding more patrols over the weekend with possible checkpoints using a highway safety grant.
"I've instructed everybody zero tolerance. If you choose to get behind the wheel and drive after you've been drinking or doing any narcotics, you will be taken to jail," Fandal said.
This is part of the reason he got into law enforcement.
"I'll share with you why I'm so passionate about it. Almost 40 years ago my brother was killed the day after his 25th birthday. It wasn't behind the wheel but it was in a boat and the driver of the other boat was suspected of being intoxicated. That's why I'm passionate about it," Fandal said.
He shares that hoping others wont have to face the same tragedy.
"Please, please think twice before anyone gets behind the wheel of a car impaired," Lafrere said.