21 Mar 2009 | The Times-Picayune
Driver charged after hitting pedestrian early Saturday on Tchoupitoulas
Saturday March 21, 2009, 10:00 AM
by The Times-Picayune
A 23-year-old man was booked early Saturday with vehicular homicide after he struck a pedestrian who was crossing the road around 3 a.m. near a Tchoupitoulas Street nightclub, New Orleans police said.
Abhishek Siddharth Bhansali was heading Uptown in the 3700 block of Tchoupitoulas Street in a 2008 BMW sedan when witnesses say he swerved into the lane of oncoming traffic, struck one man and narrowly missed two other pedestrians who were leaving the club, according to a news release.
The man was identified as Michael Keith, 34, of Metairie, according to John Gagliano, spokesman for the Orleans Parish coroner’s office. Keith suffered multiple blunt force injuries and died at the scene at 3:05 a.m., Gagliano said.
Authorities say speed and alcohol were factors in the crash. Fatality Investigator Michael Wahl is in charge of the investigation.