Highway crew finds body while trimming grassy median

GONZALES, La. – A maintenance crew cutting back the thick grass along a highway median in Louisiana found a human body Monday afternoon, according to authorities.

The corpse had been hidden from view along I-10 near Highway 73 WBRZ reported until workers found it around 1:00 p.m.

Traffic backed up in both directions after investigators arrived at the scene in Ascension Parish between Gonzales and Prairieville, just over 20 miles southeast of Baton Rouge.



The identity of the body is not yet known, and investigators from the crime lab and coroner's office were called to the scene. The victim appears to be a woman, WAFB is reporting, but her age is not yet known.

"We do ask that anyone that may have seen anything in the last few days or so, anything suspicious to contact state police or the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office," said Bryan Lee, public information officer of the Louisiana State Police.

It's not clear what the cause of death was, but officials suggested Monday that the woman may have been the victim of a hit-and-run.