Two incidents that occurred within months of each other prompted Mississippi public health leaders and lawmakers to invest in a trauma care system.

On Nov. 5, 1995, Gov. Kirk Fordice was severely injured when his sport utility vehicle ran off Interstate 55 north of Grenada and flipped over. He was transferred to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, the state’s only Level I trauma center.

On Feb. 27, 1996, Lt. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and state Trooper Mike Wilkie were injured in Simpson County when a van broadsided their state vehicle. Musgrove also was taken to UMMC.