Loranger woman allegedly fleeing scene of another accident booked on charges of vehicular homicide
A 19-year-old mother and her 7-month-old son were killed on a Tangipahoa Parish highway on Christmas Eve in what Louisiana State Police called “a fiery crash” involving a driver who was allegedly “impaired” and fleeing the scene of an earlier accident.
Jillian Pamela Ramsay, 36, of Loranger, was driving a 2015 Nissan Altima northbound at a high rate of speed on North Cherry Street in Tickfaw at 8:44 p.m. Sunday as she was fleeing from the earlier accident, State Police said in a news release.
Ryan Joseph McCollum Sr. of Tickfaw, driving a 2004 Dodge Stratus with his fiancee Shelly Mulkey and their 7-month-old son Ryan McCollum Jr. as passengers, had just entered North Cherry Street at a slow speed, police said.
“As Ramsay crossed the intersection of LA 1064, her Altima approached McCollum’s Stratus at a high rate of speed,” the news release said. “She swerved slightly to the right, and crashed into the rear of McCollum’s Stratus.”
The collision ruptured McCollum’s gas tank, and both vehicles caught fire, officials said. Ramsay managed to exit her vehicle with minor injuries, and witnesses at the scene removed the elder McCollum and Shelly Mulkey from their vehicle.
Witnesses performed CPR on Mulkey and “McCollum’s Stratus quickly became engulfed in flames” with McCollum’s son still inside, the news release said. The Tangipahoa Parish Fire Department then arrived at the crash scene and put out both fires.
Both Ryan McCollum Jr. and his mother were pronounced dead at the scene by the Tangipahoa Parish Coroner’s Office.
Ramsay and McCollum were transported to North Oaks Health System in Hammond by Acadian Ambulance. Blood was drawn from both drivers for analysis, and police determined Ramsay was “impaired” during the crash. After she was treated and released from the hospital, she was booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on two counts of vehicular homicide, hit-and-run, and careless operation. The crash investigation is ongoing.
Authorities said alcohol impairment and speed were the main elements that “led to this horrific crash.”
