ST. AMANT, LA (WAFB) -
Firefighters
took time Thursday to remember a tragic crash that took the lives of two small
children a year ago.
Members of
the St. Amant Fire Department gathered at the site where a car with an adult
and four children inside veered off Stringer Bridge Road in St. Amant and
plunged into Black Bayou.
Faith
Castilaw, 9, and Patience Lobdell, 7, died in the wreck. Their mother, Raelyn
Encalade, was driving. She and two other children, ages 6 and 9, were pulled
from the bayou and survived.
Firefighters
placed roses in the bayou where the car went into the water. Fire Chief James
LeBlanc said he still remembered arriving on the scene to see residents, sheriff's
deputies and firefighters jumping into the cold dark water to do whatever they
could to rescue the children.
"Faith and Patience changed my life forever and I
will never forget," LeBlanc stated in a news release. "Even though
their stay here was very brief, their footprints have left a very big imprint
in all our hearts."
A toxicology report was released two months after the
accident indicating Encalade had prescription drugs in her system. The
Ascension Parish District Attorney's Office is continuing to investigate.
Following the crash, people in the area signed petition
for more signs on the roadway warning drivers. DOTD later announced additional
cautionary signs would be installed on the road.
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2013 WAFB. All rights
reserved.
Source: Fire Chief James LeBlanc
