Five Killed In Crash With Deputy's Car Police Unsure If Lights Or Siren Used Submitted by Larie Tedesco Times Picayune 05-23-1999 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Five Slidell-area children were killed Friday while returning home from a late-night trip to McDonald's when the car they were in was hit by an unmarked cruiser driven by a St. Tammany Parish sheriff's deputy en route to another officer's call for help, State Police said. The children -- cousins, sisters and brothers, ages 4 to 14 -- were less then a block from their destination when the car they were riding in turned left from U.S. 190 Business onto Leaning Oak Drive in front of the cruiser. "The whole car was just ripped open at the back right door," said Trooper Kevin Allen, spokesman for State Police Troop L barracks, which is investigating the crash. "The car was kind of tore away from them. Two or three of the victims landed in water in a ditch. It was devastating." The driver and two other passsengers suffered minor to moderate injuries. Deputy Robert Muller, 21, was responding to another officer's call for assistance Friday at 10:28 p.m. when his eastbound Crown Victoria plowed into the 1995 Nissan Altima filled with children, said State Police, who were asked to handle the investigation by the Sheriff's Office. Neither the Sheriff's Office nor State Police would say what emergency Muller was responding to and whether the unmarked car was equipped with flashing lights or a siren. Muller, who could not be reached for comment, got minor injuries in the crash; he had been wearing a seat belt. Relatives of the victims, who live less than a block from the accident scene, said the driver of the Altima told them the deputy was speeding and had not turned on any flashing lights or siren before the crash on the two-lane road also known as Shortcut Highway. The accident occurred east of Slidell on a straight section of the road where the speed limit is 55 mph. "It hurts," said Roosevelt Wise Sr., whose son, Roosevelt Wise Jr., 13, who underwent surgery at North Shore Medical Center for facial injuries, was injured in the crash. Among the dead are his youngest relatives. Wise's daughter, Hynitha Nicole Wise, 19, was driving the car filled with relatives to pick up her younger siblings from a sock hop at a nearby business. She then took the children to McDonald's before heading home, relatives said. State Police said all of the children who died had been in the back seat of the car and were not wearing seat belts; three of them were ejected from the car at impact. Hynitha Nicole Wise and front-seat passenger Coleen Walker, 17, were wearing seat belts and were treated at Slidell Memorial Hospital for minor injuries and released. Family members and State Police said the children killed were Jasmine Wilburn, 4, who died after she was transported from North Shore Hospital to Charity Hospital; Devanti Magee, 7; Anthony Wilburn, 7; Devon Wilburn, 9; and Nikim Wise, 14, all of St. Tammany Parish. A 150-foot-long skid mark, still at the accident scene Saturday, made it appear that Muller tried desperately to stop his car before the impact, witnesses said. After the crash, the Altima "rotated violently," spinning off the road, landing in a southside ditch, Allen said. Muller's car was thrown onto the highway's south side. Alcohol is not suspected in the crash but routine toxicity tests are being performed, State Police said. While police still are waiting for test results on the officer's blood, Allen said, Wise's breath test for alcohol was negative. The results of his toxicity tests are expected in two to three weeks, Allen said. St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain Jr. expressed his condolences to the victims' family in a prepared statement Saturday, but his office declined to release any other information. "This was a horrible tragedy, and our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims," Strain said. "At this time, details of what actually occurred are still being pieced together. We are awaiting the outcome of the accident investigation and will accept the findings of State Police." A sheriff's spokesman would not comment Saturday on how long Muller has worked for the department. Allen refused to comment on whether it was a Sheriff's Office policy to take an officer off active duty until the completion of the investigation, saying only, "I heard he was shook up pretty bad." State Police said no one has been charged in the accident and they expect the investigation to take several days. Allen said the investigation will consider all possible contributing factors, including speed. "We'll look at how fast the vehicles were going, lighting conditions, road surface conditions, everything," he said. While investigators combed the rural stretch of road, measuring skid marks and other evidence Saturday, family members assembled at their nearby home to deal with their sudden losses. Anna Wise struggled through her tears Saturday to describe the daughter, the three grandchildren and the cousin she lost in the accident. Her daughter, Nikim Wise, 14, made good marks in her eighth-grade classes at Boyet Junior High School in Slidell, was a cheerleader and sang in the church choir, she said. Her grandchildren were Anthony Wilburn, 7, a second-grader at Cypress Cove Elementary School near Slidell, who enjoyed baseball and swimming; Devon Wilburn, 9, a third-grader at nearby Honey Island Elementary School, who played basketball and rode bicycles with his brother Anthony; and Jasmine Wilburn, 4, who until recently attended Pumpkin Patch Day Care Center and died Saturday at Charity Hospital, "just smiled a lot," Anna Wise said. Her cousin, Devanti Magee, 7, also was killed in the crash. Family friend Floyd Milliet said some of the relatives had just attended a local sock hop he throws for Slidell area children at a nearby business. As she often did, Nikim Wise attended the dance for youngsters 7 to 14; she was full of joy, as usual, Milliet said. He said Nikim Wise was a great dancer, a school cheerleader and a member of her school dance team. "She was a really great kid," Milliet said. "I can remember her leaving, smiling because she had such a good time." About half an hour later, Milliet got a call about the accident from someone who had attended the dance. A former police officer, Milliet said his emotions ran the gamut when he heard the crash involved a deputy. "I feel for the policeman because I can just imagine what he's going through," Milliet said. "As an officer, you want to get there and protect your fellow officer, but you also want to think about the safety of the people you serve."