[StBernard] Well-known fishing guide killed in St. Bernard truck crash overnight

[Westley Annis]

Well-known fishing guide killed in St. Bernard truck crash overnight
by The Times-Picayune 
Tuesday November 25, 2008, 10:47 AM
A well-known fishing guide was killed overnight in a single vehicle crash in
St. Bernard Parish, authorities said.

Joseph B. Brechtel Jr., 43, was driving a 2008 Dodge Ram pickup eastbound on
Florissant Highway near Pisces Place when he veered to the right,
overcorrected to the left, and veered off the roadway into a utility pole,
State Police said this morning.

Brechtel hosted a weekly fishing show, called "Team Big Fish,'' on WDSU-TV.

"He was a friendly guy,'' WDSU news director Jonathan Shelley said. "People
always looked forward to chatting with him when he came around. He was a
nice guy who was very knowledgeable.''

Brechtel was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the truck during
the 12:24 a.m. wreck, State Police said. He was pronounced dead on the
scene.

The investigation into the wreck continues. Toxicology results are pending,
State Police said.