NEW ORLEANS, Ga. — Several of those injured in the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Day and their families have filed a civil lawsuit against the City of New Orleans, the New Orleans Police Department and others.
Among those named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are University of Georgia student Elle Eisele and the friend she was traveling with, San Diego State University student Steele Idelson.
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The lawsuit, filed last week in a Louisiana district court, calls the tragic attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens of others “foreseeable and entirely preventable.”
Just after 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, sped down Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. The attack ended in a shootout with police where Jabbar shot two officers before they returned fire, killing Jabbar.
“With more gratitude than you can fathom, I wanted to let my friends and family know that I am fighting and I am healing. Most importantly, I am alive, and I am so thankful that God spared Steele and myself. I’m reading your messages, and I’m thankful for your support and love and one day soon, I’ll be replying to you! Please keep praying for all of us survivors”
Eisele, a native of Fort Myers, Florida, posted on Instagram after the attack that she was grateful to be alive.
“With more gratitude than you can fathom, I wanted to let my friends and family know that I am fighting and I am healing. Most importantly, I am alive, and I am so thankful that God spared Steele and myself. I’m reading your messages, and I’m thankful for your support and love and one day soon, I’ll be replying to you! Please keep praying for all of us survivors”
— Elle Eisele via Instagram
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The lawsuit says that Eisele and her family had traveled to New Orleans to cheer on the Georgia Bulldogs, who were set to play in the Sugar Bowl against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish later that day. The game was ultimately delayed until the next day.
Eisele, Idelson and two boys they were with were all hit directly by Jabbar’s truck.
“Steele and Elle were violently thrown like rag dolls in the street, both of them receiving multiple traumatic and life-threatening injuries,” the lawsuit reads.
The young men they were with were killed in the attack, according to the lawsuit, but did not identify who they were.
Neither Eisele nor Idelson were able to return to their respective schools for the semester because of their injuries, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit goes on to demand a civil trial to determine how much recovery compensation the victims are entitled to.
Read the full lawsuit below.
822054792 File Stamped Copy of the Complaint Romanucci Blandin and Maples Connick Bourbon Street Incident L... by Jennifer Smith on Scribd
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