By BEN LUNDIN

Staff Reporter

DESTREHAN – An early morning head-on collision between a Toyota Corolla and an allegedly stolen Nissan Sentra on River Road claimed one man’s life and seriously injured a Destrehan woman Friday.

Louisiana State Police will perform a toxicology examination to determine whether the deceased driver of the stolen Sentra was impaired, and said he was speeding and neglected to wear his seat belt at the time of the crash.

The driver of the 2006 Sentra reportedly sped eastbound on River Road near milepost 4.1 at 5:54 a.m. when he swerved into the westbound lane for unknown reasons and collided head-on with 2007 Corolla driven by Lynn S. Taravella, 58, of Destrehan.

Authorities arrived at the scene to find the Sentra’s driver dead before they rushed Taravella to St. Charles Hospital with serious injuries.

Louisiana State Police have not released the name of the driver of the allegedly stolen Nissan pending proper notification. Senior Trooper A. Rickmeier is spearheading an ongoing investigation.