Arrest made following Oct. 25 fatal crash
Published 12:30 am Thursday, May 18, 2023
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A 31-year-old Beaumont man that police believe caused a fatal crash while driving and using a cell phone turned himself in to authorities on a warrant and bonded out the same day.
The manslaughter warrant for the arrest of Cedric Jerome Fontenot was signed by Judge John Stevens, according to information from his court.
Bond was set at $100,000.
Fontenot was indicted recently in connection with an Oct. 25 crash that killed Jonathan Allen Droddy, 32, of Orange County.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Fontenot was operating a motor vehicle in an unsafe manner while using a cellular device.
Beaumont Police Department responded at approximately 5:50 a.m. Oct. 25 to Interstate 10 Northbound and Southbound at Laurel in response to a fatal crash.
Preliminary information gathered from the scene revealed the operator of a box truck, which was transporting mail, was traveling northbound and lost control of the vehicle.
He struck a cement center divider and knocked it into southbound traffic.
A 2016 Ford Escape operated by Jonathan Allen Droddy, a 32-year-old man from Vidor, was traveling southbound when his vehicle was struck by the box truck.
Droddy was killed upon impact, police said.
The retaining wall struck a gray GMC Sierra pick-up that was traveling southbound.
The driver of the pick-up was not injured.
The driver of the box truck had non-life threatening injuries.