‘He’s one of our own’: 23-year-old worker killed helping driver broken down on interstate

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE/Gray News) - Louisiana State Police arrested a driver on Tuesday who allegedly struck and killed a Department of Transportation and Development worker that was trying to assist motorists following a crash in New Orleans.

The driver was identified as 26-year-old Oscar G. Perez-Moran, of Arabi. He was hospitalized, but will be booked with negligent homicide and other traffic-related charges after his discharge, the agency said.

The victim was identified as 23-year-old Eric Anthony Jr., of New Orleans. The Department of Transportation and Development said Anthony was a Motorist Assistance Patrol employee. He leaves behind a 6-year-old son.

The crash happened around 1:49 p.m. in the westbound right lanes of Interstate 610 and possibly on the shoulder near Canal Boulevard.

A man in a disabled truck, which was pulled over onto the shoulder, said Anthony stopped to help when another vehicle hit him.

A black SUV was seen in the middle of the highway with front-end damage. A Department of Transportation and Development vehicle with a large LED sign on the shoulder also suffered rear-end damage.

“This job is inherently dangerous, and the brave people doing these jobs risk their lives every day in order to make motorists safer,” Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Joe Donahue said in a statement. “We would like to remind everybody to pay attention, don’t drive distracted and abide by the move-over law when possible.

Richard Ardis serves as the statewide operations manager for the Department of Transportation and Development Motorists Assistance Patrol. He spent the evening with Anthony’s family at the hospital.

“We had a tragedy and it’s felt by everyone. He’s one of our own,” Ardis said. “He leaves a mother, a father, a 6-year-old son and a grieving family. I would ask that everybody keep them in their thoughts and their prayers.”

Ardis said Anthony had only started the job in July.

“The citizens of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana have lost somebody special,” Ardis said. “We have no idea how many people Eric may have affected with this job, with his life, and now it’s been cut short.”

Ardis said the Motorist Assistance Patrol operators are trained to expect the unexpected, but there are some incidents that are completely out of their control.

“We just have to try to stay on our toes as much as possible and maintain that situational awareness, and we have a lot of close calls day in and day out,” Ardis added. “It is the law that (approaching drivers) are supposed to slow down and move over. They are supposed to yield to emergency vehicles, but it’s also a common courtesy that they’re trying to get to someone to help them.”

Multiple lanes were closed intermittently while authorities investigated the crash. Traffic was allowed to pass in the far left lane and on the left shoulder.

Louisiana State Police said its preliminary investigation determined that the crash occurred as Anthony was assisting the driver of a disabled 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche. Anthony parked his marked 2018 Dodge Ram Department of Transportation and Development vehicle on the right shoulder behind the Avalanche with its emergency lights activated and traffic cones placed behind the vehicles.

Troopers said Anthony was standing near the rear of his truck retrieving equipment to tend to the Avalanche’s flat tire when he was struck by the 2020 Nissan Rogue driven by Perez-Moran. Authorities said Anthony sustained serious injuries and was pronounced dead after arriving at a hospital for treatment.

Louisiana State Police said the reason that Perez-Moran’s vehicle traveled off the roadway onto the right shoulder where Anthony was struck remains under investigation. His vehicle also struck the back of the Dodge Ram before spinning and hitting the disabled Avalanche.

The driver of the Chevrolet was not inside the vehicle and was not injured.

Perez-Moran was not wearing a seat belt, but sustained “minor injuries,” state police said.

As part of the investigation, routine toxicology samples were collected from the driver for analysis to determine whether he was impaired.

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