Sand Mountain Reporter

State troopers in Louisiana are searching for a car involved in the accident that killed a couple from Geraldine.

Rodrego “Junior” Lugo and Mitzi Aust Lugo died late Friday when a car hit their 1995 Ford Ranger on Interstate 20 near Ruston, La.

The collision sent the Lugos’ vehicle across the median and into the eastbound lane, where it collided with a Freightliner.

That caused the truck to catch fire.

A state trooper spokesman told the Monroe (La.) News-Star that authorities are searching for the driver of a white Chevrolet Corvette that was believed to have hit the Lugos’ Ford Ranger.

Trooper Mark Dennis told the Monroe newspaper that investigators expected to make an arrest when they find the Corvette.

He said troopers have an eyewitness description of the car and a partial license plate number.

The Lugos were en route to visit his family in Mexico. A native of Guanajuato, Mexico, he came here for work and had a job at the Sand Mountain Pallet Co., in Crossville.

Mitzi Lugo worked in the Head Start program at Kilpatrick after attending Snead State Community College and Jacksonville State University. Family members said she enjoyed working with children and spending time with friends and family.

The Lugos had been married for six years. Rodrego Lugo had a son and a daughter.

Mitzi Lugo had two sons, two daughters and six grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church in Guntersville, where Mitzi Lugo was a member.

Two people in the Freightliner – driver Reyndel Magouirk, 63, of Valley, and passenger Michael Brown, 42, of Charleston, W.Va. – sustained minor injuries. They were treated at a hospital and released.

The News-Star said the wreck scene and investigation closed the eastbound lanes of I-20, between Shreveport, La., and Monroe for six hours.

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Serving Albertville and the Sand Mountain region

Publisher: Ben Shurett

1603 Progress Drive
Albertville, Alabama 35950

Tel: 256-840-3000 | Email

A Southern Newspapers publication.