Pedestrian Dies in Crash on U.S. Highway 90 Near Rayne, Louisiana

RAYNE, La. (KPEL News) - A pedestrian walking on U.S. Highway 90 near Rayne is dead following a crash involving a car and now involving Louisiana State Police investigators.

According to investigators, the deadly incident happened Tuesday night as Troopers received the call shortly after 9:30 p.m. They responded to US 90 a short distance west of Rayne where they found 42-year-old Amanda Soileaux of Rayne, who was pronounced dead at the scene by the Acadia Parish Coroner's Office. Preliminary investigation shows Soileaux was walking west in the eastbound lane of US 90 when she was struck by the eastbound vehicle. The driver of the car was not suspected of being impaired and the voluntary breath sample showed no alcohol detected. The driver was properly restrained and suffered no injuries.

Meanwhile, a standard toxicology sample has been taken from Soileaux for analysis.

This deadly incident has State Police leaving this important message:

Troopers urge pedestrians to maintain a heightened level of awareness while walking near the road. Simple precautions such as wearing reflective materials, avoiding distractions, not walking too close to roadways, and walking against the flow of traffic could prevent most pedestrian related crashes.

Did you know that nearly 70 percent of pedestrian fatalities happen at night? That's according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which points out other interesting statistics about pedestrian fatalities such as what day of the week they tend to happen the most and on which sections of the roadway these fatalities happen the most.

This is the 25th fatal crash investigated by State Police Troop I in 2023. These crashes have resulted in 28 deaths.