It’s a wild story, and it wouldn’t have happened without going there and talking to people about what they were concerned about — and then looking into it.

In September, an 18-wheeler collided with a dump truck turning onto the road leading to the Meta site. In the report, the driver told the deputy that “he does not and has never had a driver's license.”

In August, a dump truck hauling dirt drove off the road and crashed into a tree, killing the driver, according to the Richland Parish Coroner’s Office.

Others are more alarming: A hit-and-run where the dump truck left the scene; an 18-wheeler trying to beat an oncoming train across the railroad tracks; a driver leaving the scene, abandoning his wrecked vehicle in the median so he wouldn’t miss a morning meeting at the Meta site.

Some happened because the large trucks couldn’t see the smaller vehicles or hear their horns before backing or turning into them. Some, because the driver, who was en route to his workplace at the Meta site, was tired.

I reached out to Meta, and they told me they set strict standards about speed and safety for their drivers.

Police crash records suggest that isn’t happening — many of the crashes appear to be caused by drivers in transit to the Meta construction site.

On the roads surrounding Meta’s construction site, vehicle crashes have gone up by more than 600%. There have been 64 crashes between January and mid-September this year, compared to just nine for all of 2024, according to police records.

Congratulations to Audrey Brown, Christopher Burrell, Rebecca Cadenhead, @wadrewhawkins.bsky.social , Will Katcher, @josephinelee.bsky.social , Rachel Livinal, @jimmylovrien.bsky.social

#CHJDataFellowship #DataFellows

I know we're seeing people disappear every day now. In the numbers, we lose the humanity. No human is more deserving than another.

I love public media and I love my beat. But I had to step outside to tell this story. Huge thanks to @antigravitymag.bsky.social and all of the wonderful editors there for their guidance and ability to execute darlings without hesitation

Jamilla Webb attended the second national Get Free: A Black Feminist Reunion conference (featuring keynote speaker Angela Davis); @wadrewhawkins.bsky.social‬ investigates banana plantations, ICE raids at Canal Place, and the history that connects them...