Passing vehicles on busy highways can lead to serious accidents if drivers are not aware of what is going on ahead of them.

At 2:33 Thursday afternoon, two individuals were traveling south on Mississippi 43 South, one in front of a large truck and the other behind, said Mississippi Highway Patrol Information Officer Joe Gazzo. As the driver of the leading car, Gerald Soell, 42, of Carriere, began to make a left turn off the busy highway, the driver of the trailing car, Sheldon Powe, 36, of Picayune, passed the large truck and slammed in to Soell’s vehicle.

Soell said he was on his way to work Thursday afternoon when he was struck by Powe’s vehicle as Powe was trying to pass the large freight truck.

The truck behind him was following rather close, but Soell said as he turned on his blinker indicating his intention to turn, the large truck backed off. Halfway through the driveway of his workplace he was struck by the vehicle driven by Powe.

“I just know I got hit, slammed around and facing the way I was coming,” Soell said. “I hope he’s got insurance cause my car is totaled. The only thing that survived Katrina with me, and now it’s gone.”

After Powe’s vehicle struck Soell’s, Powe’s vehicle ended up upside-down in a ditch, Gazzo said. Powe was taken to Highland Community Hospital while Soell later went to the hospital in a private vehicle, Gazzo said.