NEW ORLEANS - A man tried to evade police by jumping from an overpass after he allegedly set fire to a house with his kids inside, leaving all three of them to die.

The New Orleans Police Department said officers and firefighters showed up outside the home on America Street shortly after midnight. They said a woman contacted police alleging that the father, Joseph Washington Sr., was threatening to set the house on fire. 

When police and firefighters arrived on the scene, the home was already engulfed in flames. Video captured on nearby surveillance cameras minutes earlier showed someone leaving the house as the flames spread from the rear of the home.

Two children, an 8-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl, were initially found inside the home and taken to a hospital where they later died from their injuries. A third child, a 3-year-old, was later found dead inside the house.

Their mother was not home at the time of the fire.

Later that same day, Gretna police found Washington's car dumped in the Mississippi River, partially submerged. He was eventually tracked to I-610 in New Orleans, at which point he leapt from an overpass near the Elysian Fields exit. 

??BREAKING:
Gretna police say a car, they believe to be connected to the New Orleans East fire that killed 3 children, was pulled out of the Mississippi. Gretna police tell me they are releasing the car to NOPD pic.twitter.com/pq7JMHFPdg

Trending News

• Last round of rain and thunderstorms moving through by Saturday morning
• School closures announced after severe weather

— Alyssa Curtis (@AlyssaNCurtis) October 18, 2023

Washington was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for potential injuries. Once he's released from medical care, he'll be booked with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and one count of aggravated arson.