16-year-old dies after being dragged and run over by 15-year-old driver, deputies say

VIOLET, La. (WVUE/Gray News) - A Louisiana sheriff’s office is investigating the death of a 16-year-old boy following an apparent late-night confrontation in Violet.

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann said deputies responded around 9 p.m. Monday to a call about a person lying in the roadway on Meraux Lane.

When deputies arrived, they found an injured teen on the ground. He was taken to a hospital where he died, the sheriff’s office said.

The victim’s sister identified the teen as Franklin Osmar Ayala Linares.

“Our mom isn’t doing well,” Yenifer Ayala said. “She feels responsible for not keeping a close eye on him. Yesterday, we were eating dinner and he was asked to take out the trash. So, he took out the trash but he never came back. We just thought he made it back and was shuttered inside his room to play video games, like usual.”

Detectives determined through video surveillance that Franklin was walking along Meraux Lane when he approached a white Chevrolet van. Investigators said an altercation occurred between the victim and the driver.

The driver attempted to leave the scene while the victim remained in physical contact through the driver’s side window.

As the van pulled away, Franklin was dragged before falling onto the roadway, where he was run over by the van.

Detectives said the driver was a 15-year-old boy, but the agency withheld the suspect’s identity because he is a juvenile. He has been taken into custody and booked on charges of negligent homicide and hit-and-run resulting in death.

The investigation is ongoing.