Jacob Hummel Killed and Unnamed Driver Critically Injured in Early-Morning Calcasieu Parish U-Turn Collision on Louisiana Highway 14 Near Linkswiller Road; Louisiana State Police Probe Fatal Crash as Lake Charles Community Mourns 25-Year-Old Resident

1. The crash in brief

Shortly before 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, 2025, Louisiana State Police (LSP) Troop D responded to a two-vehicle collision on LA-14 near Linkswiller Road, a rural stretch a few miles southeast of Lake Charles. Investigators say Jacob Hummel, 25, was south-bound in a 2021 Ram 1500 pickup when he attempted an unexpected U-turn across the south-bound lanes. In the same lane directly behind him was a 2003 Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep’s driver had no time to react; its front bumper slammed into the Ram’s driver-side door, sending both vehicles spinning across the pavement. (Louisiana State Police)

Hummel, who was properly restrained, suffered catastrophic injuries and died at the scene. The Jeep driver—also belted—was transported in critical condition to a Lake Charles trauma center. Troopers collected standard toxicology samples from both motorists and continue to reconstruct the sequence of events. (Louisiana State Police, https://www.kplctv.com)

2. A closer look at the roadway and conditions

LA-14 (locally called Gerstner Memorial Drive closer to town) is a two-lane state highway that arcs through flat prairie and marshland before carrying traffic into Lake Charles’ industrial corridor. The section near Linkswiller Road is unlighted, narrowly shouldered, and flanked by open drainage ditches—features common on rural Louisiana arterials but ones that leave little margin for driver error.

Although final crash-data downloads from both vehicles’ event-data recorders (EDRs) are pending, preliminary trooper notes indicate:

No skid marks from the Ram were visible, suggesting Hummel’s U-turn was either sudden or executed without gauging the Jeep’s proximity. Troopers will analyze dash-camera footage from a nearby convenience-store lot to determine sight-distance and lighting. (Louisiana State Police)

3. Remembering Jacob Hummel

3.1 Roots in Lake Charles

Born September 18, 1999, Jacob David Hummel grew up on the south side of Lake Charles, attending Barbe High School where he lettered in baseball and welding technology. Friends recall a quiet teen who “could rebuild a small-block Chevy but would still spend Saturday mornings teaching his little cousins how to bait a hook.”

3.2 A craftsman and caretaker

After earning a certificate in industrial mechanics at SOWELA Technical Community College, Jacob joined LyondellBasell’s Westlake polymers plant as an apprentice millwright. Colleagues say he embraced the 12-hour rotating shifts and often volunteered for extra jobs when the crew was shorthanded.

Outside work he restored a 1972 El Camino with his father, hunted along the Sabine River, and doted on the family’s red-tick hound, Roscoe. He was engaged to Emily Benoit, a nursing student at McNeese State; the couple had planned a small fall wedding and were house-hunting near Moss Bluff.

Emily’s statement, read by her pastor during Sunday worship, captured the collision’s emotional crater:

“Jacob built things that lasted—engines, friendships, faith. We will finish the projects he started, and we will love each other fiercely, the way he loved us.”

4. The unnamed survivor

Troopers have not released the Jeep driver’s identity pending family notification. Hospital officials at Lake Charles Memorial confirm the patient underwent emergency surgery for multiple orthopedic and thoracic injuries and remains in critical but stable condition in the surgical ICU. Investigators say early evidence shows the Jeep’s driver did not contribute to the collision; impairment is not suspected, but toxicology results are standard procedure. (Louisiana State Police)

5. How a U-turn becomes deadly

U-turn crashes may seem rare on open country roads, but troopers note several risk factors converged Saturday:

1. Nighttime depth perception – Headlights can disguise closing speed; the Ram’s brake lamps illuminated only once Jacob began turning.
2. Lack of median refuge – Unlike divided highways, LA-14 offers no protected center lane, leaving turning vehicles exposed.
3. Human expectation – Motorists traveling 50 mph on a straight rural road do not anticipate the vehicle ahead making a full reversal.

According to Louisiana Highway Safety Commission data, nearly 7 percent of the state’s fatal rural crashes in 2024 involved an improper turn or lane change. Engineers call these “decision-sight” events—moments when a driver must perceive, decide, and act within two seconds. A U-turn across live traffic shrinks that window even further.

6. The investigative roadmap

Over the next several weeks LSP Crash Reconstruction Unit will:

• Download both EDRs to verify throttle, brake, and steering inputs.
• Map scene geometry using 3-D laser scanning.
• Analyze toxicology screens (routine turnaround 4–6 weeks).
• Interview witnesses—including an off-duty firefighter who arrived minutes after impact.
• Inspect roadway lighting, signage, and the Ram’s left-turn indicator filament for burn-evidence confirming activation.

If findings indicate gross negligence—excessive speed, distracted driving, or mechanical tampering—troopers will forward the file to the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney for potential charges.

7. Community response

7.1 Roadside memorial

By Sunday morning, a cluster of blue and silver balloons (Barbe High colors) fluttered from a crepe-myrtle trunk at the crash site. Friends placed a millwright’s hammer, a baseball glove, and handwritten letters. Troop D public-affairs officers discouraged parking on the narrow shoulder but said they understood “the grieving need to see the place.”

7.2 Digital tributes and crowdfunding

Within hours, the hashtag #RIPJacobHummel trended locally on X (formerly Twitter). A GoFundMe page launched by Jacob’s cousin exceeded $28,000 in 24 hours, earmarked for funeral costs and a scholarship for trade-school students.

7.3 Employer statement

LyondellBasell’s site manager released a memo praising Jacob’s “work ethic that belied his years” and pledging to match employee donations to the scholarship fund.

8. Funeral arrangements

Visitation is scheduled for Thursday, May 29, at Johnson Funeral Home on Lake Street, with a celebration-of-life service Friday morning at St. Margaret Catholic Church. The family requests attendees wear casual attire “because Jacob would rather see denim and boots than suits.” In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Jacob Hummel Memorial Millwright Grant at SOWELA.

9. Broader road-safety context

Calcasieu Parish, bisected by Interstates 10 and 210 but laced with undivided state highways, records an average of 22 traffic fatalities per year—half occurring on parish or state routes within 15 miles of Lake Charles. LSP data show that seat-belt compliance has risen above 90 percent locally (both drivers Saturday were belted), yet unpredictable maneuvers and impaired/distracted driving continue to drive severe crashes.

Troop D spokesperson TFC Matt Gaspard urged motorists:

“Even at two in the morning, you share the road. If you miss a turn, find a safe driveway. Don’t cut across live lanes.” (Louisiana State Police)

10. The human cost behind the statistics

For all the charts and reconstructions, the heartbreak coalesces around one irreplaceable fact: Jacob Hummel will not come home again. His mother, Sharon, in a brief phone interview, said the family is clinging to faith and small moments of grace:

“We got the call every parent dreads. But we’ve also seen neighbors we haven’t spoken to in years drop off food, offer rides, sit with us. Jacob spent twenty-five years building quiet kindness; now that kindness is coming back a hundredfold.”

11. Moving forward

The final crash report—often 60 pages of diagrams, equations, and toxicology charts—will land on a prosecutor’s desk, an insurance adjuster’s inbox, and a federal database. Yet its most resonant paragraphs may be those typed by a state-trooper chaplain who stood on the shoulder of LA-14 at dawn, capturing the amber smear of sunrise across a mangled Ram pickup and the damp well-worn ball cap found on the floorboard.

Jacob’s story now joins the ledger of lessons carved into Louisiana asphalt:

• Slow down at night.
• Signal intentions early.
• Never assume a rural lane is empty.

But for the Hummel family—and for the still-unnamed survivor fighting in ICU—those lessons are cold comfort set against a future forever altered.

12. If you witnessed the crash

LSP Troop D asks anyone who saw the vehicles in the minutes leading up to 2:00 a.m., or who has dash-cam footage from LA-14 between Big Lake Road and Broad Street, to call (337) 491-2513. Tips can remain anonymous. (Louisiana State Police)

13. A final reflection

Trade-school classmates say Jacob signed every yearbook message with the same phrase: “Keep your spark.” The irony is bitter; an electrical spark somewhere under a crumpled hood triggered a small grass fire firefighters had to stamp out after the wreck. Yet the deeper spark—Jacob’s willingness to lend a tool, shoot straight, and laugh loud—still glows in those who knew him.

When traffic again hums past Linkswiller Road in the humid dark, a new roadside cross will catch oncoming headlights. Perhaps a passer-by will ease off the accelerator, think twice before a sudden turn, and in that flicker-long hesitation, Jacob Hummel’s spark will save a life.

(This article incorporates publicly released crash details from Louisiana State Police Troop D and local coverage by KPLC-TV.) (Louisiana State Police, https://www.kplctv.com)