Lawsuits Filed in Louisiana Road Deaths

Four lawsuits have been filed against Louisiana and Ascension Parish government over the fatal February 2012 crash in which two young girls died.

The driver’s two children, 9-year-old Faith Castilaw and 7-year-old Patience Lobell, did not escape a submerged car and died. Two other children escaped with the driver, Raelyn Encalade.

The suits name the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and Ascension Parish government as defendants.

Among the allegations leveled against the agencies in all four suits is that the two-lane road, which has a section that runs parallel to Black Bayou with little shoulder, lacks guardrails and that the agencies failed to prevent a hazardous condition on the road.

The Advocate reports parish and state official have refused comment on the suits.