ALBANY — State Senator Valarie Hodges urged the Department of Transportation and Development to address possible inadequacies along I-12 near Albany on Friday after four people died in vehicle crashes in the same area over the course of a few days.

A section of the interstate near Albany was closed for five hours on Feb. 13 after a car crossed the median, crashing into two trucks. The crash resulted in the death of David Kilgore from Mississippi.

Just two days later, on Feb. 15, three people were killed after a car entered the roadway from the wrong direction before crashing into an RV and bursting into flames. Jamie Pourciau and Baile Lassabe of Albany, along with Lassabe's 9-year-old son, were killed in the crash, according to the Albany Police Department. 

The crash left the interstate closed for about six hours. 

On Friday, Sen. Hodges wrote a letter to DOTD Secretary Glenn Ledet, urging DOTD to add better warning signs and extra pavement markings and to expedite a safety review of the Albany/Springfield interchange, along with nearby sections of I-12. 

"These tragic losses have deeply affected the residents of Livingston Parish and communities throughout Louisiana," Hodges wrote in a social media post. "As a vital corridor handling tens of thousands of vehicles daily, I-12 near the Albany interchange has obvious safety challenges that these recent fatalities unfortunately underscore."

While DOTD is investigating, future safety changes in the area remain unclear. 

"Safety is our No. 1 concern across the state," DOTD officials said on Saturday. "We are aware of the concerns and are gathering data to properly address those concerns." 

Nearly 80,000 drivers traveled along this section of I-12 every day in 2024, according to a traffic count by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. 

According to LSU's Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety, 32 people died in vehicle crashes in Livingston Parish in 2025, with 20 of them being drivers.