BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB/Gray News) – A Louisiana mother is horrified after she says her 17-year-old daughter was threatened with a racist note following a road rage incident that happened on the teenager’s way to school.
Jasmine Mills’ 17-year-old daughter was driving to Brusly High School when the teenager says she accidentally cut in front of someone. The woman who was driving the other car has been identified as 40-year-old Sarah Averette, who has a child who goes to the high school, WAFB reports.
WARNING: This story contains language that may be offensive to some readers.
Averette allegedly followed the 17-year-old to the school, circled the student parking lot and left a threatening and racist note on her car.
“I just want to know why,” Mills said. “Why would you say the things you said to a 17-year-old?”
The teenager, who did not want to be identified out of fear, says she had no idea this had even happened until her friends saw the note and reported it to the front office.
The WAFB I-Team obtained a picture of the expletive-filled note that ends with the n-word. It reads, “ATTENTION B—-, I KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND I WILL F—— FIND YOU AND F— UP YOUR CAR WHEN YOU DON’T EXPECT IT. LEARN HOW TO F—— DRIVE.”
“I didn’t know people still act like that,” the teenager said. “I was shocked because I was in the classroom when it happened, so I didn’t know what was going on. Everybody was just texting my phone saying somebody left something on your car.”
Following the incident, Averette was banned from school property indefinitely, according to a spokesperson with the West Baton Rouge Parish School System.
Mills says she’s disgusted that a grown woman would take things so far, especially targeting an underage girl.
“It makes me very angry,” she said. “It made me feel really bad, and it made me feel really bad for my daughter. At 17 years old, she got to witness there’s still racism out here, and despite us being in 2024, this is what we’re still facing as African Americans.”
WAFB’s Scottie Hunter asked the mother if she was ever nervous that Averette was going to act on her alleged threats.
“Yes, I was very nervous, and my daughter was nervous,” Mills said. “Monday, she didn’t even want to go to school because she thought the lady was going to follow her to school. The way the world is now, you have to take precaution of everything. Don’t take nothing as ‘oh, they’re not going to do nothing’ because people do anything now.”
Deputies with the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office got involved in the incident, according to arrest records. Using surveillance video from the school and license plate readers on the highway, they tracked Averette down. She was charged with criminal mischief.
Mills says that’s not enough.
“I feel like that charge has nothing to do with what she has done and her threatening my child. You came on the school premises to threaten my child,” Mills said. “You circled around the parking lot to look for my child, so what if you would have gotten into contact with my daughter? What would you have done to her? So, I feel like more should be done about it.”
The WAFB I-TEAM tried to reach out to a number listed for Averette, but a woman who answered the phone hung up abruptly. Averette’s attorney later sent the following statement on behalf of Averette:
“Sarah is profoundly sorry to the person she offended with hurtful words written in anger. Out of remorse, she tried to retrieve the note soon after but was unfortunately too late. Her multiple requests to meet with the victim and her family to personally apologize were to no avail. Sarah takes responsibility for her mistake and accepts the consequences. She humbly prays for forgiveness as she has learned from her mistake and will become a better person for it.”
Mills says someone did try to reach out on behalf of Averette, but she says a simple apology does not erase the threats against her daughter nor the fear that she’s been dealing with.
“That was wrote with passion. And to threaten her? That should not have went that far,” Mills said.
Copyright 2024 WAFB via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB/Gray News) – A Louisiana mother is horrified after she says her 17-year-old daughter was threatened with a racist note following a road rage incident that happened on the teenager’s way to school.
Jasmine Mills’ 17-year-old daughter was driving to Brusly High School when the teenager says she accidentally cut in front of someone. The woman who was driving the other car has been identified as 40-year-old Sarah Averette, who has a child who goes to the high school, WAFB reports.
WARNING: This story contains language that may be offensive to some readers.
Averette allegedly followed the 17-year-old to the school, circled the student parking lot and left a threatening and racist note on her car.
“I just want to know why,” Mills said. “Why would you say the things you said to a 17-year-old?”
The teenager, who did not want to be identified out of fear, says she had no idea this had even happened until her friends saw the note and reported it to the front office.
The WAFB I-Team obtained a picture of the expletive-filled note that ends with the n-word. It reads, “ATTENTION B—-, I KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND I WILL F—— FIND YOU AND F— UP YOUR CAR WHEN YOU DON’T EXPECT IT. LEARN HOW TO F—— DRIVE.”
“I didn’t know people still act like that,” the teenager said. “I was shocked because I was in the classroom when it happened, so I didn’t know what was going on. Everybody was just texting my phone saying somebody left something on your car.”
Following the incident, Averette was banned from school property indefinitely, according to a spokesperson with the West Baton Rouge Parish School System.
Mills says she’s disgusted that a grown woman would take things so far, especially targeting an underage girl.
“It makes me very angry,” she said. “It made me feel really bad, and it made me feel really bad for my daughter. At 17 years old, she got to witness there’s still racism out here, and despite us being in 2024, this is what we’re still facing as African Americans.”
WAFB’s Scottie Hunter asked the mother if she was ever nervous that Averette was going to act on her alleged threats.
“Yes, I was very nervous, and my daughter was nervous,” Mills said. “Monday, she didn’t even want to go to school because she thought the lady was going to follow her to school. The way the world is now, you have to take precaution of everything. Don’t take nothing as ‘oh, they’re not going to do nothing’ because people do anything now.”
Deputies with the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office got involved in the incident, according to arrest records. Using surveillance video from the school and license plate readers on the highway, they tracked Averette down. She was charged with criminal mischief.
Mills says that’s not enough.
“I feel like that charge has nothing to do with what she has done and her threatening my child. You came on the school premises to threaten my child,” Mills said. “You circled around the parking lot to look for my child, so what if you would have gotten into contact with my daughter? What would you have done to her? So, I feel like more should be done about it.”
The WAFB I-TEAM tried to reach out to a number listed for Averette, but a woman who answered the phone hung up abruptly. Averette’s attorney later sent the following statement on behalf of Averette:
“Sarah is profoundly sorry to the person she offended with hurtful words written in anger. Out of remorse, she tried to retrieve the note soon after but was unfortunately too late. Her multiple requests to meet with the victim and her family to personally apologize were to no avail. Sarah takes responsibility for her mistake and accepts the consequences. She humbly prays for forgiveness as she has learned from her mistake and will become a better person for it.”
Mills says someone did try to reach out on behalf of Averette, but she says a simple apology does not erase the threats against her daughter nor the fear that she’s been dealing with.
“That was wrote with passion. And to threaten her? That should not have went that far,” Mills said.
Copyright 2024 WAFB via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
