NEW ORLEANS EAST — A May 2017 sideswipe collision between a tractor-trailer and a Nissan Altima on Interstate 10 in New Orleans East is under investigation as part of a suspected pattern of staged car-truck crashes along a 14-mile stretch of the highway. Around 2015, the number of such incidents began increasing on that corridor.

In 2004, there were 69 sideswipe accidents in New Orleans in which a passenger vehicle collided with a large truck. By 2017, that annual figure had nearly tripled compared to 2004. Insurance adjusters who examined the stretch of Interstate 10 found no obvious hazards such as faulty lighting or an especially steep grade, and many truck drivers began avoiding the route.

Statistical anomalies deepened suspicion. The average number of passengers in a passenger-vehicle collision in Louisiana had been 1.4 for years, but the cars involved in the New Orleans East truck collisions typically carried at least three occupants. Helmut Schneider, a business professor at Louisiana State University, calculated that the odds of that rise occurring by chance were one in 750 trillion.

On a day in May 2017, truck driver Lee Mulligan was transporting a trailer full of Walmart products from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to Harvey, Louisiana. Mulligan, who had been driving professionally since 1985 and used the CB radio handle "Stagger Lee," performed a full vehicle inspection that morning, checking the lights, brakes, mirrors, and wipers on his brand-new truck, which was in good condition.

Mulligan was driving westbound in the left lane near Exit 241 when he attempted to change lanes. "When your vehicle is sixty feet long, changing lanes is a process," he said. He activated his turn signal, checked his right-side mirror, and saw a blue Nissan Altima in the middle lane close enough that pulling ahead would be risky. When the Nissan dropped back, Mulligan signaled again. "I eased in," he said.

As he maneuvered, Mulligan checked his mirror again and saw the Nissan closely behind his trailer before the collision occurred. He did not feel the impact but saw the front of the Nissan smashing into the right side of his trailer. The Nissan's driver maintained control, and both vehicles pulled onto the shoulder when it was safe.

The driver of the Nissan was Demetra Henderson-Burkhalter, a 49-year-old woman whose clothes were wet because she lost control of her bladder during the impact. Henderson-Burkhalter had two passengers, Gregory Offray and Jacqueline Thompson. A passing driver also stopped and reported that he had witnessed the accident.