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Friends of innocent man killed in crash with BRPD unit still waiting for answers

6 months 3 weeks 3 days ago Tuesday, October 24 2023 Oct 24, 2023 October 24, 2023 11:00 PM October 24, 2023 in News
Source: WBRZ

UPDATE: BRPD announced the arrest of officer Sharmaine Buckley, 28, on charges including negligent homicide and negligent injuring related to the crash.

This is a breaking update. Read the original story below.

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BATON ROUGE - Coworkers of 38-year-old Caleb Chapetta are still reeling days after he was killed in a crash on Government Street.

Two police officers were heading to a call of an officer in need of assistance when the collision with Chapetta's vehicle occurred. The impact was so severe, a motor in one car was thrown from the vehicle onto the road. Six other vehicles were also struck.

"His little pranks and antics will be missed," General Manager of Glaz-Tech Daryld Hamilton said.

Hamilton said they got word that Chapetta died on Saturday. He worked at Glaz-Tech, a glass shop, for five years and was a master of his craft.

"Tremendous, there was no one trained as backup," Hamilton said. "So we are having to train other employees. It's a tragic loss."

Hamilton said Chapetta was deaf and went to the Louisiana School for the Deaf. Despite not being able to hear, he never used his disability as a crutch.

"He was always well communicated with everyone," Hamilton said. "Text on the phone and that was his way of communicating. He tried verbally but he was great at communication."

As investigators piece together what happened and who is at fault for the deadly crash, coworkers of Chapetta are grieving.

"We've got 35 employees here," Hamilton said. "It's like a big family. It's like losing a family member."

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