The driver of the March 5th accident that resulted in the death of one of his passengers was formerly charged with DUI causing death and DUI causing serious bodily injury.
Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Shane Tucker said the warrant was issued on Thursday after blood test results came back indicating his blood alcohol level was over the legal limit for his age. While the exact blood alcohol level was not disclosed, Tucker said according to state law the legal limit for a juvenile is zero. The legal limit for drivers between the ages of 18 to 21-years-old is .02 percent.
The defendant, 17-year-old Brett Z. Knight, of Poplarville, who was driving the night of the accident, turned himself in on the warrant Thursday afternoon and was booked into the county jail, Tucker said. Later that afternoon his bond was set at $25,000 per charge.
The case began the morning of March 5 when emergency personnel were called out to a home on Progress Road where a Ford F-150 had left the road, struck a mailbox, a parked car and finally the home, according to previous coverage.
Occupants of the home were not injured, but the 17-year-old passenger of the vehicle was injured and transported for treatment, while the second passenger, 16-year-old Devin Desoto of Poplarville, died as a result of the accident.