The family of former LSU football player Kyren Lacy has filed a civil lawsuit against the Louisiana State Police for the “fabricated investigation” that ultimately led to his suicide in 2025.
The star wide receiver was charged with negligent homicide and reckless operation of a vehicle just a few months prior to the hit-and-run incident.
Lacy’s parents, Kandace Washington and Kenny Lacy, are filing on the grounds that the law enforcement agency “intentionally fabricated evidence” in the 2024 crash report, which led to their son’s arrest and “emotional distress,” as the lawsuit says.
They are also suing the case’s two leading investigating officers, seeking damages for Lacy’s wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
On Dec. 17, 2024, a two-vehicle crash on Louisiana Highway 20 in Lafourche Parish killed 78-year-old Herman Hall.
State Police later issued a press release claiming Lacy was responsible for the head-on collision, stating he “recklessly passed multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed,” which caused another vehicle to swerve and crash.
The weekend before Lacy was due to appear before a grand jury, he committed suicide in Houston on April 12. The 24-year-old was found deceased inside his vehicle from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Later that year, flaws in the original investigation were revealed, including witness inconsistencies and video evidence that Lacy was not directly involved in the collision. His family’s suit alleges that evidence was fabricated with the intent to wrongfully blame him.
This includes reports from body camera footage that shows a State Trooper on the scene telling a witness to pin the accident on Lacy’s vehicle, even after the person is seen saying that someone else was responsible for the crash. Additionally, police failed to interview a passenger inside Lacy’s vehicle at the time of the incident.
Lacy’s parents allege that their son’s untimely suicide was provoked by the arrest and the “emotional distress, public scrutiny and reputational harm” it caused him.
He was preparing for a professional career when the accident occurred, and the following events prevented him from pursuing that dream, which also contributed to the decision to take his own life, the lawsuit states.
Lacy’s mother founded a nonprofit, the Kyren K2 Foundation, in her son’s name that offers mental health aid to student athletes, working with schools in the Baton Rouge community.
