NEW ORLEANS, La. (BRPROUD) — Tuesday marked 18 days since 9-year-old Abby Douglas was killed by what Louisiana State Police call an ‘impaired driver.”
The deadly crash took place in Gretna around 8 p.m. and Abby died two days later in the hospital.
The mother of Abby Douglas posted these pictures of the crash scene.
According to the Louisiana State Police, “58-year-old Wendell Lachney was driving a 2020 Infinity Q50 south on LA 23 at a high rate of speed and rear-ended a 2014 Toyota Sienna, which was also traveling south on LA 23.”
The force of the crash pushed the Sienna into a vehicle in front of it. That vehicle was a 2014 Chevrolet pick-up truck.
Abby Douglas was properly restrained at the time of the crash and was taken to a local hospital.
Lachney was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash and sustained minor injuries.
The 58-year-old is facing multiple charges including:
- Vehicular Homicide
- Reckless Operation
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
- Possession of Schedule I (Marijuana)
- Open Container
- Seatbelt Violation
In the aftermath of this deadly crash, the mother of Abby Douglas recently shared this message on Facebook about who she calls, “My Love; My Light:”
Received this message in the middle of a long day of appointments after #WendellLachney chose to drive after smoking marijuana and drinking whiskey for 4 hours, slammed into the rear of my minivan, and killed our darling Abby.
She saved 6 human beings. My love; My light. 💗 #abitails #abbyslight #DontDrinkAndDrive #MakeBetterChoices #BoomBaby Abby’s Light
Abby’s organs helped save 6 lives according to a text message shared by the 9-year-old’s mom.
Now, a friend of the family has created a petition to push for the maximum sentence for Wendell Lachney in this case.
The petition along with details from the bond hearing provided by Katie Phillips can be found here.