SLIDELL – Students who return to Northshore High School after the holiday break will be faced with a tragic news event to deal with after one of their classmates died in a car crash the week of Christmas.
According to State Police Trooper Dustin Dwight, four classmates were riding in a car on Tuesday, Dec. 20 about 4 p.m., heading west on Hwy. 433 east of the Slidell city limits when the car went out of control, flipped over and went into the Salt Bayou waterways off the side of the road.
St. Tammany District #1 firefighters were on the scene in four minutes of being contacted and were faced with one student still in the submerged vehicle. Tyler Levy, 16, was in the back seat with his seatbelt on before firefighters Troy Lombard and Ryan Gonzales were able to free him from the car.
Emergency personnel performed CPR and revived Levy before he was transported to Ochsner Hospital, only to see him pronounced dead the next morning from injuries suffered in the accident.
All four students were wearing seat belts and driver impairment is not suspected, State Police reported. Another student, 17-year-old Jonathan Lunsford, was the driver of the vehicle and was able to escape the vehicle with the other two students.
Levy was a junior at Northshore High and a member of the cross country and swim teams.
He is survived by his parents, Pam Levy and Lyle Levy, along with a twin brother, Todd, as well as his sister Ashley and another brother, Lyle.
Northshore High Principal Frankie Jabbia issued a statement after the news of the fatality.
“Parents and friends, there was a horrible traffic accident yesterday evening involving four Northshore High students. One of our students, Tyler Levy, was airlifted to Ochsner, unfortunately, he lost his fight this morning.
“Please keep the Levy family in your prayers. As a parent this is our worst fear…Please pray for this wonderful family.”
Jabbia said he was honoring Pam Levy’s request by starting a memorial in her son’s name.
Funeral services were held on Tuesday at St. Luke Catholic Church.