The executive chef of a Indian restaurant in Kenner was one of the eight who died in Monday’s Interstate 55 pileup, a family friend confirmed.
Raj Pannu said her friend, 40-year-old Qutub Singh Negi, died from the injuries he sustained during the crash at about 5 p.m. that night.
Negi, who lived in Ponchatoula, was on his way to work at the Punjabi Dhaba Indian restaurant in Kenner, where he worked as executive chef, when he was caught in the pileup.
The crashes, caused by poor visibility due to the mix of fog and smoke from wetlands fires, stretched for nearly a mile and involved 168 vehicles. The current count has 63 injured.
Pannu said Negi left home at about 9 a.m., having told his wife he needed to prepare box lunches for one of his clients at the restaurant.
“After that, nobody heard from him,” Pannu said. “About 2:30, a sheriff’s deputy visited Ms. Negi.”
The deputy had come to tell Negi’s wife he was in critical condition. He died at the hospital just a few hours later. Pannu said his wife and two children, 10 and 14, are in shock.
“(His wife) just cannot understand why it had to happen to him. They just celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary,” Pannu said.
Negi’s loved ones are preparing a time and date for his services, which will take place at Harry McKneely & Son Funeral Home & Crematory in Hammond.
“We need to take care of the family first. We need to focus on how we can rehab the family and try to help them move forward,” Pannu said.
Negi was born in India and worked as a chef in New Delhi before moving to New York in 2016. His wife and children joined him in Kentucky soon after, and they all moved to California in 2018. The family settled in southeast Louisiana in 2021. Negi had also worked at the Punjabi Dhaba location in Hammond before becoming executive chef at the Kenner location.
Pannu said she’ll miss Negi’s smile, his culinary talents and his way with people.
“He knew how to make people comfortable,” she said. “His customers loved him, and he’s one of those who would go out and meet with the customers and make sure they were satisfied with the meals. He was just a gentle soul.”
