Friends remember twins killed in recent car crash

Published 11:45 pm Friday, May 18, 2012

By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Artistically talented and always friendly, Mt. Airy twin brothers Darryl and Drew Bourgeois, who died Saturday in a tragic car accident while driving home through St. James Parish, always worked to inspire and encourage friends to foster their own talents.

“Their art was always amazing, and over the years it had progressed,” said friend David Napier. “What was more amazing was their ability to be so warm and friendly to everyone they came across.”

Napier, a fellow artist who knew Darryl and Drew Bourgeois, both 26, at East St. John High School, said the brothers had recently taken to Facebook trying to organize a page for local artists to share their talents and support one another.

“That’s what was so special about them,” Napier said. “In everything they did they brought people together.”

Napier said the brothers often met with other artists at PJ’s Coffee in LaPlace, where they shared ideas and talked about their talents. He said the two were in the process of getting more people together to organize a larger group.

“They had a close family and lots of support,” Napier said. “They will be missed by many.”

Melanie Young, who said she had known Darryl and Drew since the seventh grade, said the brothers had recently talked about wanting to continue to improve and eventually sell their artwork.

“I was trying to help him get ideas to keep his originals and just make copies that look like the real ones,” Young said. “Darryl was always trying to improve even though I thought he was very good and didn’t need to improve anything. Drew was more into animation. He often tried other styles of drawing, but he was better in that style.”

Others, like Tracey Tompkins, said the brothers were always seen as “more than just twins.”

“They were each others best friends,” Tompkins said. “Through their art work, they were able to speak to everyone and interrupt feelings. They liked improving their art and people always knew how talented they were. They had big dreams for themselves, and they saw the world as a canvas for their drawing.”

The twins were killed in a single-vehicle accident last Friday on Airline Highway in St. James Parish, when their car veered off the road into the nearby Blind River Canal, according to a release from State police.

State Police investigators said Drew Bourgeois was driving his 2005 Pontiac G6 south on Airline Highway when the vehicle veered to the left and ran off the roadway into the median. As the vehicle entered the median, it began to rotate counter-clockwise. It then crossed the northbound lanes of Airline Highway continuing to travel southeast. The vehicle then entered the bayou, striking the water with its passenger side.

The men were not wearing seatbelts, and both were ejected from the vehicle as a result of the crash. The twins’ father discovered their bodies in the water early Sunday morning.

Both men were 2006 graduates of East St. John High, and both had earned degrees from ITT Tech. Their art could be seen in the form of several murals on walls throughout East St. John High.

Since their deaths, friends have created a memorial Facebook group with more than 130 members. Friends have shared several drawings and other thoughts about the twins.

“They always thought about others before themselves,” Young said. “They will be missed by many.”

A funeral will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Mark’s Baptist Church in Mount Airy. Bardell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.