Former Elk Grove mayoral candidate dies in 11-vehicle crash on I-5 in Sacramento
A former Elk Grove mayoral candidate died Tuesday after a big-rig hauling plywood failed to slow for traffic ahead and smashed into several vehicles on Interstate 5 in the Pocket section of Sacramento.
Joel David Broussard, 39, of Elk Grove was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office released Broussard’s name Thursday morning.
Broussard, then a 35-year-old district manager for The Coca-Cola Co and former firefighter, ran for mayor in Elk Grove in 2016. He campaigned as a candidate who wanted to listen to residents’ concerns instead of property developers and big businesses.
“I’m looking to connect with everyone,” Broussard told The Sacramento Bee in August 2016. “My number has been public since day one.”
The following November, Broussard was among six candidates who lost to then Vice Mayor Steve Ly.
The fatal crash occurred about 5:40 p.m. Tuesday in the southbound lanes of I-5 near Florin Road. Officer Jim Young, a spokesman for the CHP’s South Sacramento Office, said Tuesday the crash involved nine vehicles. On Wednesday afternoon, the CHP announced that 11 vehicles were involved.
The big-rig was heading south, just north of Florin Road. A further investigation by the CHP determined that the big-rig was approaching slowed traffic ahead.
The CHP said the big-rig driver failed to slow his vehicle and started a chain-reaction crash involving 10 other vehicles. Investigators were still trying to determine why the big-rig driver failed to slow down.
Broussard was driving a red Chrysler 300, which was among the vehicles rear-ended by the big-rig. Two other people were taken to local hospitals after suffering minor injuries in the crash.
The CHP said Wednesday that neither alcohol or drugs was believed to be a factor in the collision.
Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics in the Sacramento area, where Broussard worked and was promoted to its leadership team in August, has created a Gofundme online fundraiser to help Broussard’s family with expenses. The memorial fund raised $24,000 of its $25,000 goal as of Thursday afternoon.
Zarah Armstrong, who created the Gofundme account, said Broussard’s hard work and dedication to his craft was evident in everything he did.
“Joel was a perfect example of how with the right self-confidence and motivation you can achieve your wildest dreams,” Armstrong wrote in the account page. “He made it his mission to spread this message of self-empowerment to everyone around him.”
She also wrote that Broussard leaves behind his wife, Angie Broussard, his four children, his mother and siblings, along with those at Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics who will miss him. The Elk Grove Tribune confirmed Broussard’s death in a news story Wednesday evening.
Broussard’s wife spoke of her husband’s death on her Facebook page. She said she would notified family and friends once funeral arrangements had been made.
“Joel will be deeply and unbearably missed. I keep thinking I’m just dreaming then realize I haven’t fallen asleep yet,” she wrote. “There are no words to describe this right now.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 3:32 PM.
