RAPIDES PARISH, LA. (THECOUNT) — A Pineville, Louisiana man is dead after his motorcycle left the roadway, entered a ditch, and struck a utility pole support cable on Nation Road Tuesday morning, Louisiana State Police Troop E reported. Bryan Barbat of Pineville was ejected from the motorcycle upon impact and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Barbat was 55 years old.
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According to LSP Troop E, the crash occurred at approximately 7:00 a.m. on April 28 on Nation Road near Philadelphia Road in Rapides Parish. Barbat was driving a 2011 Harley-Davidson motorcycle southbound on Nation Road when, for reasons still under investigation, he exited the roadway, entered the ditch, and struck a utility pole support cable. The impact ejected Barbat from the motorcycle. Routine toxicology samples were collected and submitted for analysis. The crash remains under investigation by LSP Troop E.
Nation Road is a rural two-lane corridor in central Rapides Parish running through the Pineville area east of the Red River. Philadelphia Road, near the crash site, is a local connector in the same rural corridor. The area consists largely of wooded residential stretches and agricultural land in the eastern portion of Pineville.
Pineville is a city in central Rapides Parish directly across the Red River from Alexandria, the parish seat. With a population of approximately 14,200 as of the 2020 census, Pineville is home to Louisiana College — a private Baptist liberal arts institution — and serves as a bedroom community and government services hub for the broader Alexandria metropolitan area. Pineville is connected to Alexandria by the O.K. Allen Bridge on U.S. Highway 71 and is accessible via Louisiana Highway 28 East and other corridors running east through the parish.
Rapides Parish is the geographic heart of Louisiana, situated in the center of the state in the Red River valley. The parish covers approximately 1,354 square miles and had a population of approximately 131,000 as of the 2020 census. Alexandria, the parish seat, is located along the Red River approximately 100 miles northwest of Baton Rouge and 105 miles northeast of Lake Charles. The parish serves as a regional hub for health care, retail, and government services for a wide swath of central Louisiana, including the Fort Johnson military installation to the southwest.
LSP Troop E, headquartered in Alexandria, serves Rapides and several surrounding parishes including Grant, Winn, LaSalle, Catahoula, Concordia, and Avoyelles. Troop E investigates fatal and serious crashes on state and federal highways within its coverage area and coordinates with parish coroners’ offices on death investigations.
Louisiana State Police encouraged all motorcycle riders to take an approved motorcycle safety course in the wake of the fatal crash. “These courses teach safe riding practices and help you apply safe riding strategies that can help reduce your chance of injury should a crash occur,” the agency said in its release. Louisiana has consistently ranked among the states with higher motorcycle fatality rates per registered motorcycle, driven in part by year-round riding conditions, high rural road traffic, and the state’s mix of flat, straight roadways and intersecting rural corridors.
Utility pole support cables — also known as guy wires — are anchoring lines that extend from utility poles at an angle to the ground to stabilize the structure. They are generally low-visibility hazards for vehicles that leave the roadway, particularly in ditches and roadside areas where they may not be readily seen by a rider or driver in an emergency situation.
The approximate location of the fatal crash on Nation Road near Philadelphia Road in Rapides Parish can be viewed on Google Maps (approximate).
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