TICKFAW, La. — A 19-year-old mother and her 7-month old son were killed in a fiery Christmas Even crash in Tangipahoa Parish.
According to Louisiana State Police, the crash happened on La. 1065 near the intersection of La. 1064 about 8:44 p.m. Sunday.
The at-fault driver, 36-year-old Jillian Pamela Ramsay of Loranger, was impaired and fleeing the scene of an earlier crash when she crashed into the young mother and her son, State Police said.
Ramsay has been booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on multiple felony charges: vehicular Homicide, hit-and-run, and careless operation.
The victims in the crash were 19-year-old Shelly Mulkey and her 7-month-old son, Ryan McCollum, Jr.
Witnesses told troopers that Ramsay was involved in a hit-and-run crash on North Cherry Street and fled the scene at a high rate of speed.
Ramsay crashed her vehicle into the rear of Ryan McCollum Sr.’s Dodge Stratus, causing McCollum’s gas tank to rupture. Both vehicles were set ablaze.
Ramsay suffered minor injuries and was able to exit the vehicle. Witnesses pulled Mulkey and her fiance, McCollum, Sr., out of the vehicle and performed CPR on Mulkey.
Mulkey and the 7-month-old baby died at the scene. The baby’s father was treated at a local hospital.
“Tragically, two completely preventable factors led to this horrific crash. The on-scene supervisor and crash scene investigators determined alcohol impairment and speed were the primary elements that led to this crash. The poor decisions/criminal actions of one person has led to devastating consequences for everyone involved,” State Police said in a news release.
