‘We are heartbroken’

NOLA Airport Baggage Handler Dies After Her Hair Gets Caught in Conveyor Belt

“She was the sweetest person,” Jermani Thompson’s sister-in-law said.

Jermani Thompson was unloading baggage from a Frontier Airlines flight on Tuesday night when her hair suddenly got caught in the belt loader machinery at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Severely injured, she was rushed to a local hospital where she was later pronounced dead, leaving the talented basketball player’s family, friends and colleagues devastated. “We are heartbroken and are supporting her family and her friends as best as we are able,” said Mike Hough, CEO of Thompson’s employer, GAT Airline Ground Support. The former women’s basketball coach at Hesston College, Daniel Harrison, described Thompson as having “no quit in her.” “She was the kind of kid who was always smiling, a great teammate,” he said. Nichole Branch, Thompson’s sister-in-law, added, “She was the sweetest person. She was a hard worker who always went after her goals.”