BATON ROUGE-  Police are investigating a crash that took the life of 56 year-old Timothy Stears Saturday night around 7:00pm on I-12 westbound near O’Neal Lane.

Stears, a resident of Waywood Avenue just off of the O'neal lane exit, was driving a 2006 Ford F-150 that was hauling a trailer full of lawn equipment. Investigators were able to determine that he attempted to abruptly exit the interstate onto O'Neal Lane, causing him to lose control and end up in the bottom of a ditch.

Timothy Stears was pronounced deceased at the scene. A passenger in the truck was transported to a local hospital with moderate injuries.

Police say that speed appears to be a factor in this crash and that the investigation remains ongoing.