By Jeremy Pittari, Item Staff Writer
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE —
Sheriff’s Department personnel responded to two accidents that resulted in fatalities on New Year’s day.
One of the two accidents resulted in the death of a 16-year-old boy, while the second accident involved a stolen vehicle, said Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Shane Tucker.
One accident was called in at about 8:21 p.m. Tuesday and occurred on Burgetown Road. Tucker said deputies responded to find the Kia Sorento driven by 18-year-old Jesse Gardner of Carriere had left the road for an unknown reason.
Rainy conditions were cited as a contributing factor in the accident, Tucker said. Investigation into the accident determined that as the Sorento was traveling west on Burgetown road it left the roadway in a curve, striking a tree. A passenger in the vehicle, 16-year-old Tyler Gardner of Carriere, was pronounced on scene while Jesse Gardner was transported to Highland Community Hospital for treatment of serious injuries, Tucker said. Pearl River County Coroner Derek Turnage cited massive cervical trauma as Tyler Gardner’s cause of death.
Earlier that day, at about 3:48 a.m., deputies were called out to an accident that occurred on Connie Harrell Road, Tucker said. Investigation into the one-vehicle accident determined the driver, 26-year-old Brian J. Bouis, of Garrett McGill Rd., Poplarville, was traveling north on Connie Harrell when the 1997 Isuzu Hombre he was driving left the road, causing Bouis to overcorrect and the vehicle to flip several times, Tucker said.
Bouis was ejected from the vehicle and came to rest in the roadway, Tucker said. Pearl River County Deputy Coroner Dempsey Seal said Bouis died from massive closed head trauma.
Later that morning at 4:42 the department received a call about a vehicle missing from Hadley Road in Poplarville, also a 1997 Isuzu Hombre. Tucker said the owner of the vehicle went outside to feed her cats when she noticed her vehicle was missing. The owner of the vehicle stated she left the keys in the vehicle, Tucker said.
Based on the registration of the vehicle involved in the accident Bouis was driving the Hombre that had been stolen from Hadley Road, Tucker said.
