A deputy with the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office was killed Friday night in an off-duty motorcycle crash.

Joshua Dunaway, 40, of Prairieville, was riding a 2024 Suzuki motorcycle on La. 44, just north of Lee Drive in Ascension Parish, about 9 p.m. when the bike struck the rear of a 2024 GMC Sierra pickup for unknown reasons, according to a release from Louisiana State Police.

Dunaway was pronounced deceased on the scene, troopers said. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. The driver of the GMC was uninjured.

Impairment is unknown; however, routine toxicology samples were collected for analysis, and the crash remains under investigation, the release states.

A post on the Sheriff's Office Facebook site Saturday mourned Dunaway's death.

"It is with heavy hearts that we sh

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