Man cited in crash that closed bridge, dumped concrete on Berwick home

BERWICK — Commuters who cross Berwick Bay will before forced to endure at least one more day when the La. 182 bridge will be closed. A trailer loaded with pieces of concrete knocked down a portion of concrete guard rail Sunday, leading to the old bridge’s closure.

The Department of Transportation and Development on Monday was acquiring what it needs to build a temporary guard rail, said spokeswoman Deidra Druilhet of the DOTD’s Lafayette regional office.

People should be prepared for the La. 182 bridge to be closed at least through Tuesday, she said.

That means delays crossing the U.S. 90 bridge. The closure of the old bridge plus the continuing maintenance and rehab on the new bridge reduce the number of lanes crossing Berwick Bay from six to two.

But it could be worse. You could live in the house the concrete fell on.

The family of Sterling Aucoin Jr. escaped injury when pieces of the guard rail hit the home at 1:36 p.m. Sunday, the Berwick Police Department said.

A driver identified as Byron Blakeman of Morgan City was driving a pickup pulling a trailer full of concrete debris when it hit the bridge rail

The bridge was blocked, first by what was left of the trailer and then by first responders and the DOTD out of concern about the missing section of guard rail.

Blakeman was cited for careless operation of a vehicle with crash, according to Berwick police.

Aucoin wasn’t home at the time of the crash. But his son, Sterling Aucoin III, was there with his wife Danielle.

She was sitting in the area near the carport but got up and walked away a few seconds before the railing fell, Aucoin III said.

Aucoin said he doesn’t have any memory to which he can compare the noise.

“I don’t know what it sounded like,” he said. “A tornado maybe.”

He was in a part of the house away from the impact.

Falling debris wrecked the carport and punched a hole in Aucoin Jr.’s roof, which is only 7 months old. Pieces of the guard rail remained atop the roof Monday as the Aucoins waited for an insurance adjuster to arrive. Allstate put the family up in a hotel Sunday night, Aucoin said.

Falling debris pockmarked Aucoin’s yard with holes. One piece of concrete rail, about 5 feet long, could be seen a few yards from the house on a patch of grass.