ABBEVILLE, LA - Family and friends are mourning the loss of a retired Vermilion Parish sheriff’s deputy who was killed in a head-on collision last week.
Charles Levine, a longtime law enforcement officer, died Friday, Sept. 12, when his vehicle crossed the centerline on Highway 338 and struck an oncoming vehicle, authorities said. One of the vehicles was fully engulfed in flames following the crash. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
His sister, Camilla Levine, said she is still struggling to process the tragedy.
“I haven’t been able to sleep good because when I close my eyes, I see his face,” she said, holding back tears.
Camilla said she first saw news of the crash on social media.
“The morning of the accident, I was getting ready for work,” she recalled. “I’m sitting in my car looking at my phone, and I see where someone had posted the accident, and I commented on it, still not knowing it was him.”
Charles Levine served the community for years, beginning his law enforcement career in the early 1990s with the Abbeville Police Department before joining the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office, where he served for 14 years.
“It’s going to take a while for it to really sink in and be like, he’s really gone,” Camilla said. “You know, he’s not here anymore.”
She shared memories of her brother growing up.
“When we were younger, my mother signed him up for football,” she said with a smile. “And if you knew my brother, you knew he wasn’t like a sports guy. So, she signed him up, and he made a play where he caught the ball but instead of running into the right end zone, he ran into the opposite team’s end zone.”
The family is inviting the public to pay their respects.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at Faith Hope Christian Fellowship Church, 407 B.K. Stevens Drive in Abbeville. Pastor Joseph Baudoin will officiate.
Public visitation will begin at 9 a.m. that morning at Frioux-David Funeral Home, 2600 Charity St., Abbeville.
