Hattiesburg man killed in wreck Friday
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A four-vehicle chain-reaction crash on Christmas Eve in Shady Grove mangled an SUV and injured a half-dozen or so people, but witnesses said it was nothing short of a miracle that no one was killed.
Geo Tracker
Mark Phillips, 59, of Laurel was driving a 1996 Geo Tracker that was traveling south on Highway 15 North, according to the accident report from the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Kevin Busby, 64, of Laurel was headed north in a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado. There were two other southbound vehicles — a 2016 GMC Yukon driven by Larisa Bullock, 46, of Soso and a 2001 Saturn L20 driven by Michelle Gates, 40, of Madison, according to the report.
The Yukon collided with the Geo, causing the Geo to collide with the Saturn, and after the initial impact, the Geo spun into the northbound lane and collided with the pickup and there were “multiple non-life-threatening injuries,” MHP reported.
A stalled vehicle — believed to be the Geo — set off the chain-reaction crash around 5:30 that evening. Volunteer firefighters from Shady Grove and Sharon responded and had to extricate Phillips from the wreckage. He suffered what were described as “moderate injuries” along with two other people and all were transported by EMServ Ambulance to South Central Regional Medical Center. Three others complained of what were described as minor injuries but declined transport to the hospital.
Highway 15 North was shut down between Watermill Road and Old Highway 15, near Shady Grove Volunteer Fire Department, for almost an hour-and-a-half while rescue and cleanup efforts were under way.
Volunteers from Powers and Sandersville who were nearby also responded along with the Jones County Sheriff’s Department. Several rescuers and passersby who stopped to assist commented that it was “a miracle” the driver of the Geo survived. An update on the condition of the people involved in the crash was not available.
On the previous afternoon, volunteers and other first-responders were called to a serious crash on the south end of the county.
A Hattiesburg man was killed when he crashed a pickup off Highway 11 South near Eastabuchie on Friday afternoon, MHP reported.
Joe Clayton, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene after the 2005 Ford F150 he was driving left the roadway, crashed into a tree and caught on fire around 3:30 p.m. He was traveling south at the time of the crash, MHP reported.
Witnesses reported that the pickup was traveling erratically just before it veered off the roadway. The driver was trapped inside after it burst into flames and he had to be extricated by firefighters using the jaws of life after they put out the fire.
Volunteers from Moselle, Southwest, South Jones, Union and Boggy responded along with units from Macedonia and North Forrest who rendered mutual aid. The Jones County Sheriff’s Department also responded, but MHP is investigating the incident.
— PIO Dana Bumgardner of the Jones County Fire Council contributed
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