Louisiana Mayor Running For Re-Election Tragically Dies In Car Wreck On Election Day
A Louisiana mayor running for re-election tragically died in a car crash on Election Day.
The collision that claimed the life of Velma D. Hendrix, the 84-year-old mayor of Melville, occurred around 11 a.m. Tuesday (Nov. 8) on U.S. Route 190, the Louisiana State Police stated.
According to police, Michael Cook was driving a 2015 Ram 2500 pickup truck south of LA 741 at the same time as a 2008 Acura RDX, in which Hendrix was a passenger, was traveling west on U.S. 190.
Cook failed to yield as he attempted to cross both westbound lanes of U.S. 190. Consequently, the front of the Ram struck the Acura’s passenger side.
Hendrix, who was sitting in the rear left passenger seat, wasn’t wearing a seat belt, the police said. The mayor was taken to a hospital in critical condition where she succumbed to her injuries.
The Acura driver and three additional passengers suffered moderate to critical injuries and survived the collision, the police stated. A routine toxicology sample from the driver was sent to the Louisiana Police Crime Lab for analysis.
Cook, who was unrestrained in the pickup, suffered no injuries in the collision. A breath analysis revealed that he had no alcohol in his system or other impairments, according to the police report. Officers cited him for failure to yield from a stop sign and for not wearing a seatbelt.
Authorities said the crash remains under investigation.
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Hendrix was a longtime educator in St. Landry Parish who was first elected Melville’s mayor in 2018, The Acadiana Advocate reported. Before that, she served on the city’s board of alderman from the mid-90s to early 2000s and second stint before she was elected mayor with 70 percent of the vote.
After Hendrix’s death, the St. Landry Parish Clerk of Courts announced that qualifying for mayoral candidacy will reopen on Nov. 9 until Nov. 14. The new election date for mayor of Melville was set for Dec. 10.
WAFB reported that if no one else qualifies for the race, Sheila Londero will be declared mayor after she secured 52 percent of the vote on Election Day.
