FEBRUARY 28, 2015
LAMAR COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
A section of Old Highway 11 in southeast Lamar County will
remain closed following a single-vehicle accident Saturday that killed the
driver of a propane delivery truck.
Sheriff Danny Rigel said three residences between Baker and
Deavers roads had been evacuated because the truck was leaking propane.
David Black III, 32, of Purvis was pronounced dead at the
scene, Rigel said.
Rigel said the accident happened just before noon Saturday.
The truck flipped after leaving the road, and landed in a way that blocked
access to valves and nozzles that would have allowed the transfer of the gas to
a second truck.
"They can't offload the product, so they're going to do
a burn to dispose of it, which they say is kind of a standard procedure in the
industry in a situation like this," Rigel said. "It's the safest way
to do it."
Old Highway 11 was blocked off at Baker Road and Deavers
Road and will remain so until officials are able to safely remove the truck.
"They don't know how much of the product is left, so it
could take three hours or it could take a day," Rigel said. "It's
just going to depend."
Ryan Pigott, operations officer for the Lamar County
Emergency Management Agency, said the tanker could hold up to 3,500 gallons of
propane.
Joining the Lamar County Emergency Management Agency and
sheriff's office personnel at the scene were Rock Hill Volunteer Fire
Department firefighters and gas company officials.
Rigel said the Red Cross of Southeast Mississippi had worked
with the evacuated residents to provide food and shelter.