Truck driver arrested for 16 vehicle bridge pileup that killed teen in February

On Thursday morning, Louisiana State Police (LSP) announced that a truck driver has been arrested and charged for his role in a fatal pileup on the Huey P. Long Bridge (Old Mississippi River Bridge) in Jefferson Parish earlier this year.

On April 15, LSP announced that truck driver Marlin Jordan, 42, had been arrested and charged with negligent homicide in the death of 13 year old Janaria James.

Jordan was arrested for his role in a crash that occurred around 8:30 a.m. on February 23, 2021, on US Highway 190 (Mississippi River Old Bridge) west of US highway 61 (Airline Highway) in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Troopers said, “The initial investigation revealed the crash occurred as 42-year-old Marlin Jordan of Addis was traveling eastbound on US Hwy 190 in a 2007 Kenworth tractor trailer. As Jordan was traveling eastbound, he approached stopped traffic on the downslope of US Hwy 190. For reasons still under investigation, Jordan was unable to stop, which resulted in the Kenworth striking multiple vehicles. This triggered a chain reaction causing a total of sixteen vehicles to be struck during this crash. James was the passenger in a vehicle involved in this crash.”

“After conducting a thorough investigation and reviewing all of the evidence, Troopers were able to determine that Jordan’s actions leading up to the crash were negligent,” LSP said in a news release.

Jordan was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Jail on April 14.