La. State Police: Kyren Lacy’s operation of car set off events that caused fatal crash

Louisiana State Police released video and records Tuesday related to a fatal crash in December 2024 Agitation football player why laceyTheir investigation came into question in recent days after a video of an interview the man conducted with a Louisiana TV station cast doubt on whether Lacy was responsible for the crash that killed 78-year-old Herman Hall in Checkbay, Louisiana.

“Since the incident occurred, Louisiana State Police have never reported that the green [Dodge] The charger “impacted any vehicles involved,” the Louisiana State Police Department said in its video released Tuesday. However, all evidence collected supports the conclusion that Lacey’s reckless operation of the green Charger into oncoming traffic triggered the chain of events involving other drivers, ultimately resulting in the fatal crash. ,

Lacey died April 12 in Houston of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in his car during a pursuit by authorities, according to Harris County Sheriff’s reports. An arrest warrant from January said Lacy was cited with felony reckless driving and hit and run driving and misdemeanor reckless driving. The Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office had not formally charged Lacy and was preparing to send the case to a grand jury for an indictment on April 14.

According to Lacy’s attorney Matthew Ory and state police, around noon on December 17, 2024, Lacy was driving south on Louisiana Highway 20 in a green Charger and passing vehicles in a no-passing zone just before the collision. His car never collided with another car. Orie did not respond to ESPN’s requests for comment.

In an arrest warrant affidavit dated Jan. 8, police said Lacey’s 2023 Dodge Charger was “traveling southbound at an extremely high rate of speed in a posted 40 mph speed zone,” passing four vehicles—including an 18-wheeler truck with a trailer—on a heavily congested road in Chuckbay. As Lacy’s vehicle attempted to pass, it “rapidly approached a northbound pickup truck.” The pickup driver took emergency action by coming to a controlled stop, pulling over and driving off the right side of the road, the affidavit said. Police said the driver behind the pickup drove away with a “rapidly approaching” Charger to avoid a head-on crash.

That driver struck a southbound 2017 Kia Sorento, in which Hall was a passenger.

In the video narrative compiled, police included video of Lacey returning to the southbound lane. The narrator says, “The green Dodge Charger returns to the southbound lane,” followed immediately by aggressive braking and engine deceleration followed by a crash that can be heard on surveillance footage. ,

Lacy passed the accident scene and continued along the highway. On police body cam footage, a witness said, “A green Charger did it all.” The faces of the witnesses were blurred on the video.

Police said they used 21 different video cameras to capture the Charger’s “uninterrupted passage” to a business 11 miles away from the crash scene. Police also said “evidence supports” that less than 10 minutes after the crash, Lacy’s first outgoing phone call was to a Baton Rouge-area personal injury and defense attorney.

In an interview conducted with a local TV station, he said he said he received information from an investigation by the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office. Ory said that although Lacey passed four vehicles in a no-passing zone before the crash, Lacey returned to the proper lane 92.3 yards before the crash—enough time, they did not trigger the collision. They showed a video of Laci after the accident scene.

Ory said crash investigation data shows the car that hit Hall was hit by the vehicle that Hall was riding in, tailgating the pickup truck, and that the woman swerved to avoid being hit by the truck when it broke. Ory said police originally issued the woman a citation for passing too close and later amended the ticket to cross left of center.

Ory also showed body cam footage video, in which an officer suggested the pickup driver later testified that Laci’s green car caused the accident. In the video, the driver of the pickup truck states: “That lady behind me, she didn’t see what was happening. That’s how she caused the wreck.” According to Ori, the driver did not sign the witness statement.

The district attorney’s office did not return calls from ESPN.

Louisiana State Police report the crash, body cam footage and a video narrative of the investigation.

“While we recognize that outlandish statements may have arisen, often based on selective information, we urge the public to rely on the full body of facts,” said Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Robert P. Hodges said.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told ESPN through a spokesperson that she is in contact with state police, who are independently reviewing all witness statements and evidence in the case.

In a follow-up statement Tuesday morning, Murrill said, “The evidence is not disputed here. The Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office was prepared to present the case to a grand jury showing that Curran Lacy swerved into his lane in the collision, which killed 78-year-old veteran Herman Hall.”

In Louisiana, a person can be guilty of vehicular manslaughter whether the death was “proximately caused or directly caused,” meaning a driver was not required to have contact with the vehicle, according to state statute.

The statement said the district attorney planned to bring the case to a grand jury on April 14 so it could decide whether “if any, there were appropriate charges to indict.” Shortly before Lacy’s death on April 12, a female relative told police around 11:15 p.m. that she had been in an argument with Lacy, who discharged a firearm into the ground. When officers arrived, Lacy was already away. About 20 minutes later, when an officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Lacy, he fled and the officers pursued. Several miles later, Laci’s vehicle crashed.

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Department report, “Information indicates that Lacey shot himself during the pursuit and before the vehicle crashed.” A handgun was recovered inside the vehicle.

Reports posted online did not identify the type of vehicle Lacy was driving. The Harris County Sheriff’s Department has not yet released additional records of the incident in response to ESPN’s request.