One hundred days after a driver struck and killed John Le Nguyen and sped away, his family gathered along Greenwell Springs Road in Baton Rouge to pray, remember him, and renew a plea that has gone unanswered since July: come forward and tell them who did it.
The ceremony was held to honor Nguyen's life, with family and friends saying goodbye with love and praying for peace, according to WBRZ. His sister, Julie Nguyen, said the gathering served as a send-off and a prayer for enlightenment and peace, the station reported. For the family, it marked three and a half months of grief and unanswered questions.
Nguyen, 39, was walking when he was struck by an unknown vehicle, according to WAFB. The crash happened in the 7700 block of Greenwell Springs Road near the bridge over Airline Highway, with WAFB citing a response time of around 11:40 p.m. on July 25 in one report and around 11:42 p.m. in a later one. Investigators believe Nguyen was walking in the right lane of eastbound Greenwell Springs Road when the vehicle struck him, and he died at the scene from his injuries, per WAFB's reporting.
Driver Fled Without Stopping, Police Say
The driver allegedly fled the scene without making any attempt to stop or render aid, WAFB reported. No arrests had been made in the case as of a prior report from wbrz.com, and the case remained unsolved 100 days after Nguyen's death. WBRZ said it contacted Baton Rouge police for updates on the case and was waiting on a response from a department spokesperson.
Under Louisiana law, hit-and-run driving is defined as the intentional failure of a driver involved in or causing an accident to stop, give identifying information and render reasonable aid, according to the Louisiana State Legislature. East Baton Rouge drainage and transportation officials have confirmed that the tower lights over Greenwell Springs Road and Airline Highway were not functioning at the time of the incident, wbrz.com reported.
'We Just Want Them to Come Forward'
Julie Nguyen has said her family lacks closure because it does not know who killed her brother. Her nephew and niece now face growing up without their father, she said, calling it unfair that they must do so. Nguyen's family said he leaves behind a daughter and a son who is expected to graduate high school soon, and that he should be there to see it.
The family is pleading for the person who hit John to come forward, saying justice means someone telling the truth so they can close the case and mourn properly. Julie Nguyen put it simply: “We just want them to come forward.”
A Wider Pattern on Baton Rouge Roads
Nguyen's case is not isolated. In a separate incident, Baton Rouge police released photographs seeking the public's help after a dark-colored SUV struck and killed a 35-year-old man who had stopped because of a flat tire, then drove away, wafb.com reported. In May, Cassieanna Dorsey was hit while using a crosswalk on College Drive, and that driver also left the scene and had not been caught four months later, according to wbrz.com's reporting.
The same report found that Greenwell Springs Road, Plank Road, Scenic Highway, Winbourne Avenue, College Drive and Old Hammond Highway each saw at least one pedestrian or bicyclist hit and either injured or killed in the four months before publication. East Baton Rouge Parish ranked second only behind Orleans Parish in the number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed in crashes last year, per wbrz.com. The total number of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists involved in fatal or severe crashes so far in 2026 is higher than at the same point last year, according to LSU's Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety, as cited by the station.
Nationally, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has reported a 72 percent increase in pedestrian deaths from motor vehicle crashes since 2009, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded more than 7,000 pedestrian deaths and more than 70,000 pedestrian injuries in U.S. traffic crashes in 2024, wbrz.com reported. In response to the broader safety concerns, Move BR began a nearly $12 million project in April to widen Old Hammond Highway near Manson Drive and add sidewalks, according to the same report.
For now, the Nguyen family's search for answers continues without resolution. No new details about the driver, the vehicle, or any suspect have been reported since police asked for the public's help in the case.
