A Louisiana man is offering a large reward for anyone that can help him track down a truck driver that he says ran him off the road, seriously damaged his car, and then fled the scene.
The incident happened last week on Wednesday, August 11th near the Breaux Bridge exit on Interstate 10 in Louisiana.
According to KLFY 10 News, Steve Frenchou was driving in the right lane along the I-10 overpass when the big rig began to merge into his lane. Frenchou opted to drive onto the shoulder rather than get hit, but the two vehicles ended up colliding anyway, ripping a huge portion of the car body apart.
“I decided well, I’m going to take my choice and go ahead and hit some construction cones rather than be struck by an 18-wheeler,” Frenchou said.
“The driver side rear was peeled back kind of like a can. Let’s say a can of tuna fish like you peel the top. It peeled that off. It shattered the back glass. Luckily there was a good Samaritan that was traveling behind me that stopped. He [the good Samaritan] said at the time of the accident, he observed the rear wheels of my vehicle lift off the ground… When he said that, my heart just sank even more so because I could have started flipping. I was on the overpass, so God forbid I would have flipped off the overpass.”
“I can only assume by the damage of my vehicle that he’s [the truck driver] got to know what took place,” Frenchou continued.
Now, Frenchou is offering his own reward, a whopping $3,000 total, to anyone who can help him track down the culprit.
“It’s hard times for a lot of people, so I’m sure $3,000 could help someone… I used to be a police officer, so I want this person to stand in front of a judge and tell that judge why he decided to hit my vehicle and run. He needs to be held accountable for that criminally as well as civilly,” he explained.
“I know people are out there. I know they may know who did this. My family and I just want accountability. That’s it. That’s why I’m offering a reward. Plain and simple, accountability,” Frenchou added, pointing out that the passenger side of the rig is likely damaged and possibly has spots of maroon paint on it from striking his maroon vehicle.
Frenchou encourages anyone who think they may have seen the vehicle to contact local police and message him on Facebook, but also urges people to “please get a picture of the trucks damage. Picture of the company and license plate. Please do not confront anyone.”