Two University students were arrested Wednesday for possessing $104,000 of marijuana following an early morning accident on Interstate 10 in Lafayette. Bret Barattini, 24, of 10 Magnolia Gardens Drive, Covington, and William Beavers, 21, of 508 Yorkshire Drive, Homewood, Ala., were arrested on counts of possession of marijuana, according to Lafayette Police Department Public Information Officer Paul Mouton. Mouton said the crash occurred when Barattini, driving an Isuzu Trooper, drove off the eastbound lane into the median. A westbound 18-wheeler swerved to avoid the wayward vehicle and tipped over. No one was seriously injured, though the truck driver suffered a minor scratch. He was taken to a local hospital where he was briefly treated and released. Barattini was issued a citation for careless operation with a crash. After the accident, witnesses reported seeing Barattini and Beavers place a box beside the fence at nearby Frontage Road, Mouton said. “The officers went and got the box and discovered 11 pounds of marijuana,” Mouton said. Mouton said Barattini, general studies student, and Beavers, accounting student, were “to [his] knowledge” not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The incident caused both east- and westbound lanes of I-10 to be closed until Wednesday evening. The wrecked truck carried hazardous chemicals. Though none spilled, the process of safely retrieving the material was exacerbated by rain. The hazardous materials carried by the crashed truck remained within the truck’s external bladder. A State Police Hazardous Materials unit arrived to transfer the chemicals to another vehicle, Mouton said. The congestion and rain led to many other minor wrecks throughout the day.
—– Contact Daniel McBride at [email protected]