A 26-year-old man died after he lost control of his vehicle while fleeing a traffic stop early Tuesday in Metairie, the Jefferson Parish Sheriffโs Office said.
A spokesman said that around 1:20 a.m., deputies stopped a 2014 Nissan Murano at Clearview Parkway and West Napoleon Avenue. As the officer approached the vehicle, the driver, identified by the coroner as 26-year-old Boubcar Kanoute of Texas, opened his door to speak with the officer.
The Sheriff's Office said that as the officer was standing in the doorway of the vehicle, Kanoute suddenly slammed the door shut, hitting the officer, and sped off.
Deputies pursued Kanouteย onto North I-10 Service Road. At North Hullen Street and South I-10 Service Road, he lost control of his vehicle, overturned and struck a utility pole, JPSO said. He was ejected from the vehicle.
The Coroner's Office said Kanoute died in the East Jefferson General Hospital emergency room at about 2:15 a.m. Deputies have no indications yet why he fled, the Sheriff's Office said.
Kanoute's autopsy is set for Wednesday, according to a spokesman for the Coroner's Office.
The incident was at least the second time this year that a man died after being chased by Jefferson Parish deputies.ย Clayton Taylor died in October, months after he crashed into a utility police at the corner of Manhattan and Lapalco boulevards on the morning of Aug. 20.
The Sheriff's Office said that Taylor, too, had fled a traffic stop.
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