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Metairie man was arrested and booked with committing a hate crime after he accelerated his truck toward an interracial couple, hitting and seriously injuring the woman, according to authorities.
The incident occurred in the parking lot of Birdies service station.
The couple told deputies they were walking to the store when they spotted James Descant, 50, a man with whom they’d had an earlier run-in, said Capt. Jason Rivarde, spokesman for the department.
The 32-year-old male victim, who is black, said Descant threatened to kill him a week earlier because the victim’s girlfriend is white, according to the sheriff’s office. Descant, who has “disdain” for interracial relationships, also used a racial slur to describe her involvement with a black man, the sheriff’s office report said.
As the couple stood in front of Birdies Tuesday night, Descant is accused of swerving left in an attempt to hit them, authorities said. The man managed to jump out of the way.
But the truck hit the woman, 31, injuring her right hip, right wrist and left foot, according to the sheriff’s office. She was taken to Ochsner Medical Center in Old Jefferson where doctors also determined the woman suffered a broken foot, the report said.
The man said he did nothing to provoke Descant. The man told deputies he believed Descant acted because of hatred for the couple’s relationship, according to authorities
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