Slidell man dies near Hammond in accident on Interstate 55

A Slidell man died Monday evening on Interstate 55 in Tangipahoa Parish when his Dodge van, rear-ended by a drunk driver, spun into a retaining wall and flipped, ejecting the 72-year-old, State Police said Tuesday.

Thomas Hudson was pronounced dead at the scene by the Tangipahoa Parish Coroner'€™s Office after the 6:20 p.m. accident at milepost 36.1, Trooper Louis Calato, State Police Troop L spokesman, said.

Hudson, who was not considered drunk, was rear-ended by a 1998 Jeep driven southbound by Lawrence Riskas, 50, of Foster City, Calif.

Riskas, later arrested and booked on several charges, including vehicular homicide, registered a .134 blood alcohol content level, almost twice the legal limit of .08, Calato said.

The collision sent Hudson'€™s van spinning clockwise into a ditch, where he finally smacked the retaining wall, flipped and was ejected. The van came to rest upside down.

Hudson'€™s passenger, Lucile Hudson, 64, also of Slidell, suffered moderate injuries. She was transported by Acadian Ambulance to North Oaks Medical Center for treatment, Calato said.

At the time of the wreck, Riskas fled the scene southbound, Calato said.

Eyewitness accounts provided State Police with a description of Riskas, his vehicle and license plate number, and he was later stopped and arrested without incident at the intersection of Puma Drive and Wardline Road in Hammond, Calato said.

Riskas was booked into Tangipahoa Parish Jail on charges of felony hit and run driving, driving under suspension, reckless operation of a vehicle, driving while intoxicated, vehicular homicide and first-degree negligent injuring, according to a press release from State Police.

Drugs are also considered a factor, but those suspicions won'€™t be solidified until a urine sample is analyzed and returned from the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab.

Hudson was the 38th person killed in State Police'€™s Troop L four-parish jurisdiction this year that includes St. Tammany, St. Helena, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes, Calato said.