Driver used Xanax, methadone before accident killing child, disabling toddler

LIVINGSTON, La. (AP) - A Denham Springs man has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, admitting he was driving under the influence of methadone and Xanax at the time of a wreck that left a 5-year-old boy dead and a toddler disabled.

On the second morning of his trial Thursday, Livingston Parish Assistant District Attorney Greg Murphy said Joseph Landry changed his plea from innocent to guilty for vehicular homicide and first-degree vehicular negligent injury.

On July 4, 2008, Landry's van slammed into the rear of a car. Logan Woodruff died two days later, and his younger brother, Chandler, suffered a skull fracture and broken femur.

A year after the wreck, Murphy said the younger boy needs a feeding tube for nourishment and uses a wheelchair because he can't walk.

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Information from: The Advocate,

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