LSU Student and Fiancé Killed by Alleged Impaired Driver
A Louisiana State University student and her firefighter fiancé were killed early Sunday when an alleged impaired driver struck them as they walked along a road.
A Louisiana State University student and her firefighter fiancé, both 21, were killed early Sunday after an allegedly impaired driver plowed into them as they walked along a road, police said.
Leah Victoria Fonte, a senior at LSU, and Shane David Hirstius, a firefighter with the Third District Volunteer Fire Department in Jefferson Parish, were struck around 2:40 a.m. on October 18. The couple had been celebrating a friend’s birthday before the deadly crash, according to a social media post from the fire department.
Baton Rouge Police arrested 20-year-old Mia Camille Dawson in connection with the crash, which occurred in the 5000 block of Nicholson Drive near Lee Drive. Investigators said Dawson was driving a 2016 Nissan Rogue southbound on Nicholson Drive when she veered off the roadway and struck the couple as they walked along the right shoulder. Dawson allegedly fled the scene before officers located her in the 1900 block of Nicholson Drive shortly after the collision.
Fonte, a biological sciences student from Metairie, was pronounced dead at the scene, while Hirstius was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
In a statement, LSU chancellor Jim Dalton announced: ‘The LSU family is grieving today after learning of this tragic accident involving our student Leah Fonte.’ He added that resources across campus, including counselors with LSU Cares, are available to the community. The university expressed condolences to the Fonte family and Leah’s friends.
The Third District Volunteer Fire Department honored the couple in a Facebook post, stating: ‘Shane and Leah will forever be remembered for their beautiful smiles, their kind hearts, their love for others, and the happiness they brought into this world. Their memories will forever remain a part of our hearts and our fire service family.’
Dawson was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of operating while impaired, reckless operation of a vehicle, hit-and-run driving, vehicular homicide, and vehicular negligent injuring. The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation.