1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Giselle Smith was about to walk across the graduation stage at West Jefferson High School when she was killed in a two-car crash involving a group of suspected shoplifters.
Now her family is trying to pick up the pieces, while also being there for her 21-year-old sister, Paris Kiper, who survived Wednesday night’s crash and was scheduled to celebrate her birthday Thursday.
RELATED STORY: 17-year-old dead, two injured in crash after shoplifting and chase, officers say
Kiper is in critical condition, according to family members. Doctors battled a brain haemorrhage and the family said they squeezed a relative’s hand for the first time.
But her younger sister, 17-year-old Smith, wasn’t so lucky.
Smith died after colliding with a car that investigators say was driven by 30-year-old Joneaka Smooth, one of three women suspected of shoplifting at Lakeside Mall.
Officers said Smooth led them on a chase that lasted less than a minute along I-10 until a supervisor from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office ended the pursuit.
But Smooth continued to drive erratically, swerved at the St. Bernard Avenue exit, crossed two lanes of traffic, jumped the median and struck the Toyota Camry Smith was driving, according to JPSO.
She and another 17-year-old friend, both students at West Jefferson High School, were both killed.
Smith’s mother had died in July of colon cancer.
“Giselle was excited to complete her senior year and fulfill her mother’s wishes, including choosing her school ring,” a family statement said. “She loved spending time with her siblings, friends, cousins. Her smile was infectious, just like our mother’s.”
“Our hearts are broken and our lives will never be the same.”
Smith’s family is asking for continued prayers from the community and thanked those who reached out to express their condolences.
Smooth turned himself in to police on Thursday (December 12) and is charged with manslaughter, hit and run and fleeing police.
Of her other two accomplices, one remains at large, while the other was detained and arrested Wednesday evening on charges of shoplifting.
Do you see a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Click here to report it. Add the headline.
Subscribe to Fox 8 YouTube channel.
Copyright 2024 WVUE. All rights reserved.
1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…