Florida man killed in Highway 21 crash

Published 11:33 am Monday, September 12, 2016

A Tallahassee, Fla., man was killed early Sunday morning after reportedly traveling the wrong direction on Louisiana Highway 21 near Bogalusa.

Trooper Dustin Dwight of the Louisiana State Police said that shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday, troopers from LSP Troop L responded to a fatal two-vehicle crash on Highway 21, approximately three miles south of Bogalusa. At the location of the crash, Highway 21 is a four-lane divided highway with a grass median. The crash claimed the life of Daniel Elwood, 25, of Tallahassee.

Dwight said that investigating troopers determined that the crash occurred as Elwood was driving southbound in the northbound lane of Highway 21 in a 2005 Hyundai Elantra. Elwood’s vehicle then crashed head-on into a northbound 2005 Chrysler Sebring, driven by Jodi L. Vasbinder, 17, of Covington. Elwood was not restrained at the time of the crash, Dwight said.

Elwood sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on-scene by the Washington Parish Coroner’s Office. Vasbinder was properly restrained at the time of the crash, suffered moderate injuries and was airlifted from the scene to North Oaks Medical Center, Dwight said.

Vasbinder’s front seat passenger, Nathan Nicolasi, 19, was also properly restrained at the time of the crash. He was transported by ambulance to Our Lady of Angels Hospital in Bogalusa, where he was treated for minor injuries.

Dwight said that impairment is not suspected to have been a factor on the part of Vasbinder. She provided troopers with a voluntary blood sample. Troopers also obtained blood samples from Elwood. Both samples will be sent to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab for analysis.

The crash remains under investigation.