High Speed Crash on I-55 Ramp; Three Louisiana Students Are Dead
Updated On: September 30, 2026
Carmelo Riley, Brian Smith II, and Tyrell Yates died when their car hit a support column on an I-55 ramp near Ponchatoula.
Three students from Southeastern Louisiana University were killed early Monday morning when the car they were riding in struck a concrete support column beneath the elevated interstate near Ponchatoula. All three have now been identified, and the university is grieving one of its own athletes among the victims.
Louisiana State Police responded to the crash at 3:30 AM. Monday, September 28, on the Interstate 55 ramp near Louisiana Highway 51 in Tangipahoa Parish. A preliminary investigation found that the driver of a 2017 Honda Accord was traveling north on La. 51 at a high rate of speed when the car struck a concrete support column holding up the elevated section of the interstate. Why the vehicle was traveling at that speed and what happened in the moments before impact remain under investigation.
The driver and the front seat passenger died on impact. The driver was restrained by a seatbelt; the front seat passenger was not. A third occupant, riding in the rear seat and restrained, survived the initial crash but died later at the hospital from severe injuries.
Who They Were
The Tangipahoa Parish Coroner's Office confirmed the three victims as Carmelo Riley, Brian Smith II, and Tyrell Yates, all Southeastern Louisiana University students. Yates had played basketball for the Lions during the 2023-24 season.
Southeastern Louisiana University President William Wainwright confirmed the students' enrollment in a statement, extended condolences to their families, and encouraged students to use the university's counseling services. "There are simply no words that can adequately express the sorrow we feel for their families, friends, classmates, faculty, and all those whose lives they touched," Wainwright said. "On behalf of our entire university community, I extend our deepest condolences to their families during this incredibly difficult time. I ask that we come together as a Southeastern Family and keep them, and all those who loved these students, in our thoughts and prayers."
What the Restraint Difference Tells Us
One detail in the state police account is worth pausing on: two of the three occupants were properly restrained, and one still died on impact. That's a stark illustration of how limited a seatbelt's protection becomes once speed and force exceed a certain threshold, particularly in a collision with a fixed, unyielding structure like a concrete support column rather than another vehicle. The unrestrained front-seat passenger's death reinforces the same point from the other direction: a fixed-object, high-speed crash leaves very little margin regardless of restraint status, though being unbelted still meaningfully increases the risk of ejection and more severe injury.
What Comes Next
Louisiana State Police have not yet released findings on why the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed on that ramp, whether that involved excessive speed alone or other contributing factors. Toxicology results, if pursued, and a full reconstruction of the crash will likely shape whatever comes next, both in terms of any public safety findings about the ramp itself and, for the families involved, any legal questions about how the crash occurred.
For families of passengers killed in a crash caused by another occupant's driving, Louisiana law allows wrongful death claims to be pursued against the driver's estate and insurance policy, regardless of whether the driver also died in the crash. Those claims typically proceed once the state police investigation and any toxicology findings are finalized, since the specific cause of the speed and loss of control will shape how liability is ultimately established.
Our deepest condolences go out to the families of Carmelo Riley, Brian Smith II, and Tyrell Yates, and to the entire Southeastern Louisiana University community mourning their loss.
If your family has lost a loved one as a passenger in a crash, the independent attorneys we connect you with can help you understand your legal options as the investigation continues.
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