CALDWELL PARISH (KTVE/KARD) — On Thursday, December 22, 2022, at approximately 2:50 PM, Louisiana State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 165. According to authorities, the crash claimed the life of 73-year-old Sherry M. Bates.
The investigation revealed that a 2013 Ford F250, driven by 30-year-old Cody Culpepper from Columbia, was driving north on U.S. Highway 165 behind Bates’ 2015 Ford Explorer. Culpepper’s vehicle then struck the rear end of Bates’s vehicle, causing both cars to exit the roadway.
Culpepper suffered non-life-threatening injuries; however, Bates sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Caldwell Parish Coroner’s Office. Routine toxicology samples were collected and submitted for analysis.
The fatal crash remains under investigation.