Two separate accidents on I-59 involves 6 vehicles
Two separate accidents on I-59 in Jones County Friday morning, May 1, involved a total of six vehicles, but only one person was transported to the hospital.
At approximately 8:45 a.m. emergency medical responders and rescue units from the City of Ellisville Fire Department and Calhoun Volunteer Fire Department responded to the accidents, which occurred in the southbound lanes of I-59 between the 88 and 90 mile makers.
According to officials on scene, the first accident involved an 18-Wheeler with a box trailer and a passenger vehicle. The second accident apparently occurred as traffic was quickly slowing for the first accident and vehicles were swerving to keep from hitting each other when an 18-Wheeler Log Truck plowed into a couple of them knocking vehicles into each other and in different directions.
The MHP officer working the first accident left it to respond to the second accident, which involved four vehicles. When he arrived at the second accident he found one of the four vehicles, a Chevrolet Colorado, which was carrying gasoline and paint in the bed of the truck, had been knocked down an embankment, flipped over on its roof, and was on fire with the male driver trapped inside, in his seatbelt. The MHP officer and a passerby were able to put the fire out with fire extinguishers, cut the male driver’s seat belt, and get him out of the vehicle.
The other vehicles involved in the accident included a passenger car, with one female driver, and a Nissan pickup truck, which was pulling a utility trailer, with three occupants. One of the passengers of the Nissan was transported to South Central Regional Medical Center by EMServ Ambulance Service with what was believed to be moderate non-life threatening injuries. All other individuals involved in the accident refused transportation to the hospital by ambulance.
I-59 traffic was slowed around the accident for several hours while clean operations were performed.
The exact cause of the accident remains under investigation by the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
By Linda Cranford, Jones County Fire Service PIO
Photos submitted by Jones County Fire Service
