TRAGIC

Louisiana Mayor Running for Re-Election Dies in Election Day Car Crash

Velma Hendrix, 84, died after the car she was traveling in failed to yield at an intersection, police said.

The mayor of a small town in Louisiana died in a car crash on Election Day Tuesday, bringing her re-election campaign to a tragic halt just hours before the polls closed. Velma D. Hendrix, 84, was the mayor of Melville, a town of less than 1000 people. She was in a rear passenger seat and not wearing a seat belt when the car crashed after failing to yield at an intersection, police said. The driver of the car survived, although three others were injured, some in critical condition, according to police. Michael Cook, the driver, was cited for failure to yield at a stop sign and for not wearing a seatbelt. Hendrix was running third in the race at the time of her death, her 116 votes trailing candidates Sheila Londerno and Caretta Robertson, who garnered 182 and 171 votes, respectively, according to the county clerk’s office. Given she died before polls closed, Louisiana protocol calls for a special election, which will be held Dec. 10, according to a statement by the clerk’s office. If no candidate qualifies before Nov. 14, the candidate with most votes in Tuesday’s general election will claim the position.