4 teens headed to prom injured in crash involving alleged drunk driver; additional charges filed

EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, La. (WAFB) - Four teens were injured in a two-vehicle crash involving an alleged drunk driver on the evening of Saturday, May 6, according to authorities.

UPDATE:

Erick Melendez, 33, was initially charged with DWI second offense, reckless operation, and no DL. Louisiana State Police handled the arrest, authorities said. According to jail records on Monday, May 8, he now faces two counts of first-degree vehicular negligent injuring and two counts of vehicular negligent injuring.

Officials with the Central Community School System said all four of the teens are enrolled at Central High School. A family member of one of the teens said they were headed to prom when the crash happened.

The family member said the picture above was taken just a few hours before they went to dinner. She also said Rylee Vickry had surgery to repair a broken femur bone, which went well, but added “she has a long road ahead.”

According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened on Central Thruway near Hamilton Avenue.

The four teens were in a silver Toyota 4Runner that was headed north, deputies said. They added the Toyota had just passed Hamilton Avenue when a silver Ford Explorer driven by Melendez collided head-on with it.

Deputies said the Ford was originally headed south but crossed over a median and entered the northbound lane of traffic in front of the Toyota.

The Toyota flipped at least once as a result of the crash, according to EBRSO. The jaws of life were used to get the teens out of the Toyota, according to emergency officials.

The four teens in the Toyota were taken to medical facilities, deputies said. They added that three of the teens had very minor injuries, while the fourth teen was flown by helicopter for a “possibly serious” injury that is not considered life-threatening.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2022 WAFB. All rights reserved.