Family of woman killed in hit-and-run crash in Livingston Parish seeks justice in a peaceful rally

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The family of a woman who was killed in a hit-and-run crash is demanding justice after the suspect pleaded not guilty.

“I used to babysit Jody and Will when they were just children,” said Ellen Pace, a family friend. “She’s in my heart forever.”

Jody Mann, 20, was killed in a hit-and-run crash

on LA Highway 1023 in Livingston Parish. She was walking home from a friend’s house when she was hit.

Outside the Livingston Parish Courthouse Monday morning, Brandon Chenevert, who was accused of a deadly hit-and-run in March, pleaded not guilty. Now, the Manns family said it’s time for accountability.

“A hit-and-run, they are not being held accountable,” said Holly Crow, Jody Manns’ mother. “There are so many cases that people get off on just no jail time, maybe some fines, and that’s it, and that’s not how it should be.”

When it comes to hit-and-run cases, Mann’s mother believes sentencing should be tougher, saying too many people choose to flee instead of getting help.

“You know, people shouldn’t rather run instead of getting a DWI,” said Crow. “The DWI is so harsh, they would rather leave the scene for somebody to die than to just stop, get them help, and get the DWI. So, they should have harsher penalties for sure, it will make people not want to leave.”

But at its heart, this rally was for people to know the type of person Jody was and to make sure people knew her life mattered.

“She was a really great person,” said Crow. “She would have done anything for anybody, and she didn’t deserve to be left like that.”

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