A 54-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man, both from Beavercreek, Ohio, were killed late Friday night when their Mercedes Sprinter van was struck by an oncoming tractor-trailer after a Chevrolet Cruze crossed into its lane on I-12 in Livingston Parish. The man accused of causing the crash, 2017 Chevrolet Cruze driver Daniel Dennison of Amite City, was arrested and booked on two counts of vehicular homicide along with several other charges.
According to wafb.com, the crash happened around 11:20 p.m. Friday near La. 43, when the Chevrolet entered the van's lane. Both vehicles were sent into the median, where the Chevrolet came to a stop, but the van overturned and continued moving into the westbound lanes. A 2018 Kenworth tractor-trailer traveling westbound then struck the van, according to the station's report.
The 54-year-old woman driving the van was wearing a seat belt, while her 47-year-old male passenger was not, the same account notes. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The tractor-trailer's driver and passenger suffered only minor injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment, per the report.
What Investigators Say Led to the Collision
Troopers determined that Dennison was impaired during their investigation and took him into custody, the station's report states. He was booked into the Livingston Parish Jail on two counts of vehicular homicide, first-offense driving while impaired, careless operation, simple possession of marijuana, no seat belt, and no insurance, according to the same account. The exact reason the Chevrolet crossed into the van's lane in the first place remains under investigation, wafb.com reports.
Routine toxicology samples were collected from all three drivers involved and submitted for analysis, the station notes. Louisiana State Police continue to investigate the crash.
Impaired Driving Remains a Persistent Problem Statewide
The crash adds to a troubling statewide pattern. In 2024, 26% of fatal motor vehicle crashes in Louisiana were alcohol-related, with 201 alcohol-impaired crash fatalities, according to lahighwaysafety.org. That share climbed to 27% in 2025, with alcohol-related crash fatalities rising to 211, the organization reports.
Louisiana law describes vehicular homicide as a killing caused proximately or directly by someone operating, or in actual physical control of, a motor vehicle or other listed conveyance, according to the Louisiana State Legislature. The charges against Dennison remain allegations at this stage of the case.
This is not the first deadly multi-vehicle wreck reported along this stretch of I-12. A separate fiery crash near the Springfield exit, east of La. Hwy 43, killed two people and injured one after a Kenworth tractor-trailer struck a Toyota Highlander in the westbound lanes, sending both vehicles across the median into eastbound traffic, where the Kenworth then collided head-on with a Western Star tractor-trailer, according to theadvocate.com. Both tractor-trailer drivers in that crash died at the scene, while the Toyota driver was moderately injured, the outlet reported. That earlier report also noted the stretch where the wreck occurred was without cable barriers at the time, though a Louisiana DOTD project was set to begin installing them from about Colyell Creek to the Little Natalbany River.
