Bloom Blog » Wreck

New Orleans police officer killed in on-duty wreck recalled as ‘the biggest personality on the force’

bloom — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:42:16 +0000

By Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Times-Picayune
January 22, 2010, 6:13PM
alfred_celestain_funeral_hearse.JPGRusty Costanza/The Times-PicayuneA New Orleans police officer salutes the hearse carrying Alfred Celestain Sr. past the 1st District police station on Friday.

The casket carrying New Orleans police officer Alfred Celestain Sr. emerged from St. Louis Cathedral to bell tolls, blaring bagpipes and the buzz of a snare drum roll.

After pallbearers loaded the casket into a hearse idling in front of Jackson Square, a procession of marching officers, rolling patrol cars and rumbling motorcycles followed the hearse en route to the 8th District police station.

For a moment, just as the procession began, all was somber. But when the moment passed, a brass band-led second-line broke out on the corner of St. Peter and Chartres streets. The dress shoes of men, women and children clicked as they rushed to join in.

* See a gallery of photos from the funeral of Alfred Celestain Jr.

That is how hundreds of cops and civilians on Friday bid farewell to Celestain: the 103rd officer killed in the line of duty in the history of the modern New Orleans Police Department and perhaps “the biggest personality on the force,” in the words of Police Superintendent Warren Riley.

Relatives buried the 59-year-old in Lake Lawn Cemetery. Celestain, who was divorced, is survived by his parents, four siblings, two stepsiblings and three children, ages 32, 24 and 4.

Celestain died Jan. 11, two days after an allegedly drunken driver crashed his pickup truck into a police cruiser Celestain rode in with a rookie officer he was training in the Central Business District. Injuries from the wreck dragged him into a coma, and relatives opted to remove him from a life-support system.

Investigators later booked the driver, 24-year-old Gino Ray, with vehicular homicide.

During Friday’s funeral, Riley enlivened the mood in the cathedral by recounting wild anecdotes about the fallen 20-year veteran.

One happened right after Celestain, working an off-duty security detail at an Algiers bank, foiled a midday robbery in February 2008 by firing several shots at a pair of men who stormed into the lobby with AK-47s.

Celestain put investigators’ and witnesses’ nerves at ease after the incident by recounting the events with swagger, Riley said.

“They tried to come into my bank with these AKs, and they tried to do a ‘Scarface’ on me!” Riley remembered Celestain saying, excitedly. “But I sent them right back where they came from!”

After the funeral, Sgt. Toni Blanco remembered how one of the shots Celestain fired that day grazed a robber’s head. The blood from the gunshot later helped federal authorities convict the suspects. The stocky-framed, mustached Celestain celebrated by getting “Trigger Man” tattooed in cursive letters on the finger he fired the bullet with, said Blanco, who supervised Celestain for several years in the 4th District, which polices Algiers.

celestain-off-duty.jpgEliot Kamenitz / The Times-PicayuneAlfred Celestain Sr. practices for a police fundraising concert in 2004. Celestain died Jan. 11 from injuries he sustained in a traffic accident.

Riley drew more chuckles when he remembered the first time he met Celestain, at a nightclub dance party.

“I didn’t even know he was a police officer,” Riley said, because Celestain moonwalked so wildly that he somehow disrobed to just his undershirt and pants.

“We can only imagine how much you loved him,” Riley told Celestain’s closest family, “because we know how much we did.”

As the procession passed outside the cathedral, Blanco called Celestain a “morale boost” for the districts he worked in. Often, during 4th District roll call, Celestain strolled in wearing a Rastafarian hat with fake dreadlocks or a raccoon hat with a mechanized tail. He cooked food out of French Quarter hotel kitchens for colleagues working through hurricane evacuations. A proud alum of John McDonogh High School’s marching band, Celestain played several musical instruments, including the guitar and trumpet.

Celestain, nicknamed “Shorty Red,” grew close enough to Blanco to take vacations with her to locales as far away as La Ceiba, Honduras. At a restaurant there, he danced suggestively on a pole to coax a laugh from the bemused clientele.

“I never knew an officer like ‘Shorty,’” Blanco said, before politely excusing herself to join the second-line in his name.

Ramon Antonio Vargas can be reached

Covington Tragedy – Victim Not Wearing SeatBelt

bloom — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:12:51 +0000

Janice Gould died on the scene of a car crash yesterday, after her husband had some kind of medical event that precipitated his driving their SUV into an oncoming lane of IH12 where Janice’s side was hit by an oncoming Ford F-150. The other two crash victims sustained only minor injuries.

Janice wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

It’s true that the section of IH12 where this tragedy occurred is notorious for crossover crashes, and something needs to be done about this.

It’s also true that everyone traveling in a motor vehicle in the state of Louisiana is legally required to wear a seat belt.

We’ll never know how Janice would be today if she’d been wearing her seatbelt — but from a legal standpoint, by not wearing one she was technically in violation of the law (even if she had just taken it off to help her husband, which we can guess but don’t know) and this single fact could be used in any resulting insurance claims or wrongful death lawsuits to suggest that she was the cause, in all or in part, of her own injuries. Sad but true.

And, as cold and callous as it may sound, insurance companies assert defenses like failure to wear a seatbelt all the time to limit or nullify the payment of claims out of insurance policy coverage.

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Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears: Hit & Runs

bloom — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:20:32 +0000

Orlando Bloom is reportedly being investigated by Los Angeles authorities for a hit and run last Friday night. Driving a friend’s car, Orlando had a car crash that left his friend (riding in the front passenger seat) with a fractured neck. Paparazzi recorded Orlando walking away from the scene, and then walking back, and later asking someone to call 911.

Lindsay Lohan’s out of rehab, but she still has to face hit and run charges stemming from her collision with a tree last Memorial Day. Lindsay was also charged with DUI – and cocaine was allegedly discovered in the car, as well. Lindsay was filmed running from the scene by paparazzi ….

Britney Spears was charged with hit and run on Monday, after she bumped her convertible Mercedes into another vehicle while she was parking the car. Paparazzi caught the entire episode — including Britney checking her car for damage, but not the victim’s, before going on her merry way — on video.

Okay, what’s up with these hit and run charges – and who should be most worried?

Hit and run – more formally known as leaving the scene of an accident – is illegal in every state, although each state treats the crime a bit differently. Some generalities do apply across the board, however:

1. If someone is injured and you leave the scene of an accident, then you’re gonna be facing incarceration in prison or jail as well as a substantial monetary fine. Not good news for Orlando Bloom: California law provides for up to 4 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Good news for Orlando: no harm, no foul: the paparazzi trail also demonstrates that Orlando was on the scene, did try to help his friend, and gave a report to the cops. He was not arrested or charged at the time. The intent of the law is to commit people to do exactly what Orlando did – stick around and help. Smart Orlando.

2. If someone could have been injured, ditto. You need to stick around — the law isn’t going to distinguish too much on protecting potential victims just because you lucked out and no one was hurt. Lindsay Lohan didn’t hurt anyone in her crash, but she could have. There were passengers in her car. Running away – not the best move. Of the three celebritites, Lindsay’s got the biggest problems here.

3. Injuring property is the least offensive result of a hit and run, and receives the lightest treatment under the law. Britney Spears’ fender bender in the parking lot may have hurt the parked car, but there wasn’t a chance that humans were going to be harmed in this incident. Britney’s biggest problem here is knowingly driving without a valid California license in this instance.

If you are in a car crash, do not leave the scene. Even if it’s minor and seems like a hassle, stick around, get the cops, and make a police report. If you have to be someplace – you’re late for brain surgery, say – then leave a note on the car giving all your contact information and include the reason why you couldn’t stick around. The courts do not see this as an admission against interest on your part, nor is it deemed to be a violation of your constitutional right against self-incrimination. Nice try, though, if you thought of that….

Hulk Hogan’s Son in Car Crash — Hulk At the Scene: 10 Things to Do When You Witness a Car Crash

bloom — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:31:39 +0000

Hulk Hogan’s son was seriously injured last night, when the Toyota Supra he was driving went out of control, jumped a median, and crashed into a tree. Nick Hogan was driving. Both he and his buddy, John Graziano, were airlifted to a nearby hospital and reported to be in serious condition. This morning, Hogan’s pal John remains in critical condition, but Hogan’s injuries are no longer listed as life-threatening. (TMZ is reporting that Hulk Hogan’s son has been released.)

Hulk Hogan was filmed at the scene of the accident, moments after it occurred. News reports are unclear, but apparently paramedics arrived quickly, and The Hulk was seen talking with them, as they awaited the MediVac helicopter.

What should you do if you are ever in the position that Hulk Hogan was in, at the scene of a car crash, where there are victims who are seriously injured?

1. Call 911 immediately. Keep the operator on the line.

2. Turn on your headlights, lift car hoods, use flares if you have them — do something to protect yourself and the crash victims from another collision. If there are several of you, have someone flag traffic around the site until help arrives.

3. Approach the car carefully; watch for debris and especially for gas leaking from the gas tank. What do you smell? Can you smell gas fumes? The slightest spark can cause an explosion. Think of all the warnings that are posted at the gas pumps. Abide by them.

4. Check to see if the passengers are conscious. If they are, then evaluate whether to get them out of the vehicle. They will be suffering shock soon, if not already. The danger of being in a car that can blow up must be weighed against possibly exascerbating injuries they’ve already sustained. Will pulling them out of the car cause that fractured rib to puncture a lung? Ask them where they hurt. Stay calm and be smart. Ask the 911 operator what to do.

5. Shock causes chills, confusion, and low blood pressure. Get blankets or coats to cover the victims.

6. Check the unconscious victims for a pulse. Perform CPR if needed.

7. Talk to the conscious victims, tell them that Everything is Going to Be Okay.

8. Get out of the way for the paramedics when they arrive.

9. Give your name and phone number to the police. Leave when they ask you to do so.

10. Don’t be a weasel who is so afraid to be involved that you drive by and leave people unassisted. That’s just plain wrong.�