GRETNA, LA (WGNO) — The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s office announced that a Gretna man received a 20-year prison sentence for the death of a carnival parade tractor driver in 2015.
Prosecutors say Michael Burrle, 56, was drunk when he drove his Ford Explorer into a tractor that had been used for the Krewe of Excalibur parade the previous night. 53-year-old Don Dauzat of Westwego was driving the tractor and died from his injuries.
Burrle pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and reckless operation of a motor vehicle. Prosecutors say his blood-alcohol content on the night of the crash was .12 which is 50% above the legal limit to drive.
The crash happened at the intersection of Lapalco Blvd. and Paxton Street on February 7, 2015. Dauzat was driving in a convoy of tractors that had just dropped off the krewe’s floats at its den in Marrero. The tractors were being taken to a staging area for a parade the upcoming night.
Prosecutors say Berrle ran the light at the intersection. His suv struck the tractor, knocking it about 70 feet and ejecting Dauzat.
Prosecutors say Dauzat’s daughter testified during the plea hearing and called her father, “…my protector, comforter, friend and my hero.” They say Courtney Dauzat also told the judge, “My father taught me a lot about how to have faith in God and how to love others. That night I lost the man who was supposed to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day.”