A New Orleans family is mourning 54-year-old Erica Gabriel, who was fatally struck by a car outside a gas station in St. Roch early Thursday morning, October 29, and they are now demanding justice as the accused driver faces charges in her death. Court records allege the woman behind the wheel ran Gabriel over not once, but twice, before driving away.
Family and friends identified Gabriel as the victim, according to Fox 8, which reported that police said a woman fatally hit her with a car and drove away at a gas station in the 3100 block of Elysian Fields Avenue. Court documents reviewed by the station indicate Gabriel and the driver, 44-year-old Shira Barousse Northcutt, were both inside the Brothers Gas Station at 3101 Elysian Fields Avenue around 2:12 a.m.
Police said the deadly encounter began over a dispute involving items on top of Gabriel’s car. According to Fox 8, Gabriel started banging on the hood of Northcutt’s car asking for her items back when Northcutt then allegedly hit Gabriel twice with her car before driving off.
Court Records Detail Second Collision
The violence of the encounter escalated further, according to court records cited by Fox 8 in a follow-up report. The suspect then stopped her vehicle, while the victim was trapped underneath, and proceeded to put the vehicle in reverse, rolling over the victim a second time, the records state. Northcutt then fled the scene without rendering aid or calling police, per the same account.
Northcutt turned herself in to New Orleans police Friday morning, and the New Orleans Police Department said she was booked on counts of hit-and-run causing death and obstruction of justice-evidence tampering. The station reported she would not say where her vehicle was located, only that it was with her brother, and declined to provide any further statement without an attorney present.
Bond Set, Court Date Scheduled
A magistrate commissioner, identified in court records as Joyce Sallah, set Northcutt’s bond at $750,000 but found no probable cause for the obstruction of justice count, the outlet reported. Her next court date is scheduled for November 10.
Gabriel’s loved ones gathered in New Orleans’ Iberville neighborhood to celebrate her life, describing the mother of three as the life of the party. They said it is now their mission to get justice and keep her memory alive, a sentiment echoed in a WWL-TV report on the family’s calls for accountability.
A Recurring Problem on New Orleans Streets
Fatal hit-and-runs are not new to the city. In 2021, according to data from New Orleans Police cited by WWLTV.com, 1,130 people were injured by drivers who took off, and nine people died in hit-and-runs that year. Police said at the time that just two of those nine fatal cases ended in an arrest.
One of those 2021 cases involved 31-year-old Christina Larsen, who was struck and killed by a speeding Honda Civic while walking her dog across St. Charles Avenue. The driver, Adrian Caliste Jr., was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, though the Orleans District Attorney’s Office said at the time he would likely only serve a little over a year, since the conviction was not classified as a crime of violence and he had no previous record.
For Gabriel’s family, the fight for accountability is only beginning as the case moves toward Northcutt’s next scheduled court appearance.
