A University of Georgia student critically injured in the terrorist attack on Jan. 1 in New Orleans is among 21 plaintiffs in the latest lawsuit filed against the city and its police department.
The civil lawsuit, filed in Louisiana district court for the New Orleans parish, says the deadly attack could have been prevented if the city and police department had followed safety protocols after warnings that the French Quarter was vulnerable.
The lawsuit names the City of New Orleans, the New Orleans Police Department, the French Quarter Management District, engineering firm Mott MacDonald, and Hard Rock Construction as defendants. The lawsuit is at least the second filed against the city in recent weeks on behalf of victims and survivors.
“The City deviated from their own public safety plan for New Years Eve and the Sugar Bowl, a decision which willfully disregarded public safety,” the plaintiffs said in the suit. “They willfully ignored the public’s right to be safe from violence leaving Bourbon Street exposed to just the type of attack they were warned to take all reasonable precautions to stop.”
Hours into the new year, a man drove a pickup truck into Bourbon Street crowds, killing 14 and injuring dozens more, according to investigators. The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in a shootout with police hours before the Sugar Bowl, authorities said. Many Georgia football fans were visiting New Orleans to watch the Bulldogs play Notre Dame, a game that was postponed for a day.
Elle Eisele, a UGA sophomore, and her friend Steele Idelson, a student at San Diego State University, went to Bourbon Street to meet friends during the celebration. Shortly after 3 a.m., both were hit directly by the truck, according to the suit.
Eisele and Idelson both sustained life-threatening injuries and are continuing to recover. Neither returned to school this semester, the lawsuit states. Idelson is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Credit: Courtesy of TikTok
Credit: Courtesy of TikTok
“So happy my best friend is alive and by my side,” Eisele wrote on Instagram, along with a heart emoji, days after being injured.
Both Eisele and Idelson attended and graduated in 2023 from the Canterbury School in Fort Myers, Florida. Eisele is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in chemistry, according to the UGA registrar’s office.
The lawsuit alleges that New Orleans misused $40 million in taxpayer money earmarked to keep people safe. Additionally, construction on the bollard placement project, which could have potentially stopped the vehicle from hitting people, was not completed in time for the new year celebrations and football game, according to the suit.
The victims in the lawsuit “have sustained mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, anxiety, and severe emotional distress” in addition to economic damages, including income and medical expenses.
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