LAFAYETTE, La. — Yolanda Washington, a family member of 36-year-old Cherita Washington and her 17-year-old daughter, Chase Washington, issued a statement following a fatal car crash Tuesday morning in Lafayette.
Cherita Washington and her daughter were killed in the crash. Chase was a senior at Lafayette High School.
Washington told KATC that Cherita, a mother of three, was enrolled in school to become a nurse and was scheduled to graduate in May. Chase was also looking forward to her senior graduation in August.
“Our hearts are broken, and our minds are overwhelmed. We are struggling to understand how, in one moment, so many lives could be changed forever. At 5:13 in the morning in the fog on an ordinary Tuesday a mother was simply doing what she always did, caring for her child, guiding her daughter toward her future. She was on her way to take her daughter to catch the school bus.
A normal morning after the holidays. A routine filled with love and responsibility. And yet, Lord, in a moment of recklessness, everything shifted. We ask You now for what only You can give: understanding where there are no answers. Peace where confusion and anger want to take root. Comfort where words fall painfully short. Cover this family, Lord. A mother who was walking in purpose.
A young life forever changed in an instant. Wrap Your arms around her children, who will grow up carrying a loss too heavy for their years. Hold close this family as we grieve a life that was loving, purposeful and irreplaceable. God, we don’t understand why. We don’t understand the timing. We don’t understand the choices. But we trust You to hold what we cannot. We trust You to carry this pain when our strength is gone. And we trust that even in this devastation, You are near. Give our family rest when sleep won’t come. Give us strength when grief feels unbearable. And remind them , remind all of us, that You are a God who sees, who weeps with us and who never leaves us alone.”
According to the Lafayette Police Department, a preliminary investigation indicates that vehicle No. 1, driven by 21-year-old Joseph Prejean of Lafayette, was traveling westbound at a high rate of speed in the 100 block of East Broussard Road.
Washington's vehicle, described as Vehicle No. 2 in the police report, was stopped at a red light, preparing to turn right onto Johnston Street. The report states her vehicle was struck from behind by Prejean's vehicle. That impact pushed her vehicle into a third vehicle, also stopped at the light. After that, the Prejean vehicle continued into the intersection and hit a wooden utility pole, the report states.
Three people died in the crash: Prejean, Cherita Washington and Chase Washington.
A fourth person, who was in the third vehicle, was treated for moderate injuries, police said.
The Lafayette Police Department’s Traffic Unit continues to investigate the crash.
