LYDIA, La. — State Police have identified the person accused in the incident that damaged the Veterans' Memorial in Lydia.
Aleah Boutte, 19, of New Iberia was cited for careless operation, failure to report a crash, no driver's license, texting while driving and driving an unsafe vehicle.
Troopers say that, after the early Sunday incident that heavily damaged the memorial, they received a report of a vehicle traveling eratically on U.S. 90 with heavy damage to its front end. When she was stopped by a trooper, she allegedly admitted to damaging the memorial and leaving the scene.
On Sunday, we reported that someone damaged the Lydia Veteran's Memorial early Sunday and State Police were looking for the culprit.
The memorial, which was erected following years of fundraising by local veterans, is located on a triangle of land near the intersection of Weeks Island Road and Darnall Road in Lydia.
A witness tells KATC that he saw someone in a late model white Nissan Altima parked on the property early Sunday, examining some damage to the vehicle's front end. He said he turned around to try to see what was happening, but by the time he got back to the memorial the vehicle, and its driver, were gone. That happened between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Sunday, he said.
Here are some pictures from the scene:
