Louisiana Teen Posts Racist Slur Online After Killing Black Man With Truck

Matthew Martin, 18-year-old teen who allegedly hit a man Thursday with his truck on United States Highway 171, reportedly called him a racist slur online after the incident.

Martin reportedly posted he hit “some n—-r” on the highway and also responded to a person by saying “F—-d it up pretty good.”

Martin, while using a laughing emoticon on Snapchat, said the man died on the way to the hospital.

He also posted a video of his dented truck with the caption, “Y'all I just hit a whole guy on the highway.”

Chief Deputy Calvin Turner of the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office said “all indications” show that Martin was responsible for the accident. But, he was not arrested or being charged with the crime yet as investigations were still going on, Turner added

Sam Craft, Vernon Parish Sheriff, said, "I am appalled at the content of the social media messages that were posted after the incident. This post is unacceptable and has no place in our society. The inflammatory words that were used were morally wrong. I have the utmost confidence in the Louisiana State Police and their ability to thoroughly investigate this incident. I encourage any citizen who has information regarding the accident to contact the Louisiana State Police,” reported Newsone.

However, Craft said the insensitive comment posted to social media did not violate any Louisiana laws.

“Although the incendiary language used in the social media post is morally and socially unacceptable, the post itself did not violate any criminal code within Louisiana law,” Craft said.

At 2:30 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, the Vernon Parish 911 Communications Center received a report of a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was at the scene of the accident when the Louisiana State Police and Acadian Ambulance Personnel reached the site.

Louisiana State Police Trooper said they have identified two independent witnesses apart from the pedestrian who was with the victim. They reportedly also attained statements from all witnesses.

Sherell Lewis Jr., the victim, was killed while he and another pedestrian were being Good Samaritans and trying to remove debris from a roadway in Leesville. A passerby informed his father about the incident and his mother rushed to be spot but was kept away. He was pronounced dead in the hospital.

His sister, Shototya Lewis-Ayers, told the Washington Post he cried, “Momma, momma, momma! I want my momma!.”

“If you were feeling down, he would always make jokes, crack you up, keep you smiling. He loved what he did. That’s including the barbering and touching people’s lives,” Shotoya Lewis-Ayers, told KPLC stating her brother was an active member of his community.

#JusticeforRell was being used by people on social media, who hope a thorough investigation into his death would be conducted.