The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department is investigating two fatal accidents that occurred over the weekend while the Picayune Police Department is investigating a third non-fatal accident that occurred Monday.
Saturday at 3:30 p.m., deputies responded to the scene of a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Oak Leaf Road and Carey Byrd Road in Henleyfield, Chief Deputy Shane Tucker said.
The accident involved a 1998 Ford Mustang and a 2010 Ford F-150, Tucker said.
The driver of the Mustang, identified as Thomas Keagon Travis, died at the scene due to blunt force trauma suffered in the accident, Pearl River County Coroner Derek Turnage said.
Travis was celebrating his 17th birthday and was headed home at the time of the accident, Tucker said.
The driver of the F-150 was identified as Kirk Brouillette, 48, of Oak Leaf Drive, Tucker said. He was airlifted to Forrest General Hospital along with two passengers of the Mustang.
A third passenger of the Mustang was transported by ambulance to Highland Community Hospital. Tucker said their condition is unknown.
Two of the Mustang’s passengers are minors and the third is 19-years-old, Tucker said.
A blood sample was taken from Brouillette as part of standard protocol during a fatal accident, Tucker said, but he does not suspect alcohol or drugs to be a factor.
The accident is still under investigation with the help from the Iberville Police Department’s accident investigation team. Pearl River County Chief Investigator Marc Ogden is organizing the accident reconstruction, Tucker said.
Travis was a Picayune Memorial High School student.
In a separate incident, a Nicholson resident was fatally struck by a train between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Section Line Road, Tucker said.
Deputies responded to the accident Friday night in Nicholson at 7:34, Tucker said.
Bruce Wilson Lee, Jr., also known as “Bologna,” 52, died of blunt force trauma suffered during the accident, Turnage said. He was pronounced at the scene.
“From what we can gather, the engineer or operator saw a white male, with no shirt on, laying between the rails and initiated emergency protocol,” Tucker said.
Despite the conductor of the train activating the horn, Lee didn’t move and the train was unable to stop before it reached him, Tucker said.
The incident is still under investigation but appears to be an accident due the lack of evidence pointing to foul play, Tucker said.
The Picayune Police Department responded to a two-vehicle accident that occurred Monday at about 2 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 11 North and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
Officers on scene said a green Toyota Tacoma was traveling north on Highway 11 when a gray Ford Fusion attempted to cross the highway from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The impact caused the Ford to overturn. Both vehicles came to a stop side-by-side in the ditch.
The driver, identified as Belinda Ross, 50, and a passenger of the Ford were transported to Highland Community Hospital for treatment, officers said.
The driver of the Toyota, identified as Sean Michael Rice, 41, reported no injuries, officers said.
The vehicles were removed from the ditch while officers diverted traffic from the area.