Ka’Sheena Daniels stopped on Interstate 10 after recognizing the trapped driver as a neighbor, according to a friend who was with her.
NEW ORLEANS — A 31-year-old New Orleans woman died after stopping to help free a driver from an overturned vehicle on Interstate 10, becoming the only person killed in a multi-vehicle crash that injured several people, police and witnesses said.
Ka’Sheena Daniels died Sept. 25 on I-10 West near Elysian Fields Avenue. Her friend Franchon Williams, who was traveling with her that night, told Fox 8 that Daniels recognized the driver of the overturned vehicle as a neighbor and stopped to help. Daniels helped pull the woman from the car before another collision sent a stopped vehicle into the people gathered at the scene.
New Orleans police said the chain of events began when a car traveling at high speed made a sudden lane change and overturned. Several motorists stopped after the rollover and went to help the trapped driver. Police said another vehicle then struck one of the vehicles that had stopped, pushing it into the group of people who were outside their vehicles.
Authorities said several people were injured in the crash, but Daniels was the only person who died. Police have not publicly identified the drivers involved or announced a citation, arrest or final determination of responsibility. The crash remains under investigation.
Williams said Daniels had gotten out of their vehicle to help after recognizing the woman inside the overturned car. Williams said Daniels was struck only moments after helping get the driver out. Daniels went over the side of the interstate during the collision, according to Williams’ account.
Daniels’ mother, O’Sheenana Daniels, described her daughter as someone who routinely helped other people. She said Daniels had recently celebrated a birthday, worked in accounting and was raising her adopted son, Noah. Her family said the circumstances of her death were especially painful because she had stopped specifically to help someone in trouble.
Williams said she and Daniels also had plans to begin paramedic school. The account added another layer to the family’s description of Daniels as someone drawn to helping others, even before the roadside emergency that ended in her death.
The investigation continued after the initial crash scene was cleared. On Sept. 29, New Orleans police temporarily closed portions of I-10 West and I-610 West toward downtown while investigators returned to the area. Police deployed a drone as part of their work examining the deadly weekend crash, according to WDSU.
The later closure indicated investigators were still documenting the scene and reconstructing the sequence of events several days after Daniels died. Authorities have not publicly released a final crash reconstruction or explained whether any driver could face charges or citations.
Police continue to investigate what led to the rollover and the secondary collision that struck the group of motorists who had stopped. No final finding of fault had been announced as of Saturday.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 3, 2026.