Louisiana State Police, APSO hold safety meeting with truck drivers after crashes, complaints
Following crashes and complaints in the industrial area near Donaldsonville, law enforcement agencies and a trucking company met for an April 1 early-morning safety talk with drivers.
Louisiana State Police, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office and Rene Industries Inc. held the joint safety meeting with commercial vehicle drivers working in the Modeste area of the parish.
Located north of Donaldsonville along the west bank of the Mississippi River, the RiverPlex MegaPark is expected to bring new industrial projects and thousands of direct and indirect jobs, per past announcements from officials.
Louisiana State Police, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office and Rene Industries Inc. held a joint safety meeting with commercial vehicle drivers working in the Donaldsonville area.
One of the notable projects has been the $5.8 billion Hyundai Steel mill, which was announced in the White House in March 2025.
According to an LSP news release, both APSO and LSP have received numerous complaints about unsafe driving behavior.
Per LSP, crashes along Highway 405 in the area warranted the safety meeting.
Additionally, APSO has deployed warning and speed limit signs for commercial vehicles using the highway, troopers reported.
Rene Esneault of Rene Industries Inc. joined law enforcement for an early-morning safety talk with commercial vehicle drivers delivering construction aggregates in the Donaldsonville area.
LSP’s Transportation Safety Services will continue to monitor federals regulations and state laws, while also working with Rene Industries Inc., which has offices in the area in Belle Rose and Vacherie and pits in Darrow, Convent and Vacherie, on future safety discussions.
Troopers thanked the company in the release for prioritizing safety and allowing the meeting to happen.
As noted in a separate APSO news release, Col. Donald Capello and Captain LaTonya Sullivan-Prejean met with more than a hundred drivers to discuss the added safety measures, warning signs, focused enforcement effort and 40-mile-per-hour speed limit for dump trucks.
Michael Tortorich is a journalist for the USA Today Network in Louisiana.
Gonzales Weekly Citizen and Donaldsonville Chief, part of the USA Today Network of Louisiana, cover Ascension Parish and the greater Baton Rouge area. Follow at facebook.com/WeeklyCitizen and facebook.com/DonaldsonvilleChief.
This article originally appeared on Gonzales Weekly Citizen: Louisiana State Police, APSO hold safety meeting with truck drivers after crashes, complaints
