Thursday, May 25, 2017

THE DEADLY U.S. ROADS: 4 people in a Ford Expedition SUV were killed in a 4-vehicle crash on I-10 two miles west of exit 61 in Jackson County, MS. A second wreck about a mile west of the fatal sent two people to the hospital.










4 killed in crash that shut I-10 in Gautier
By Robin Fitzgerald
rfitzgerald@sunherald.com


Gautier, MS

 The westbound lanes of Interstate 10 in Gautier reopened about 1 p.m. Wednesday after a several-hour shutdown stemming from a four-vehicle crash that claimed four lives.

The crashes happened Wednesday morning at the 63-mile marker just past the 4-mile-long bridge over the Pascagoula River.

Names of those killed were being withheld pending notification of families.

Details of the crash were not available, though Mississippi High Highway Patrol spokesman Chase Elkins confirmed the crash involved two 18-wheelers, a Ford Expedition SUV behind them and a red pickup truck that ran into the woods.

The four who died were in the SUV, Elkins said.

As the vehicles came to rest, one of the 18-wheelers was stretched across two lanes. The SUV appeared to be smashed against the cab of that 18-wheeler and had heavy damage at its front and rear ends. The pickup, a Nissan, was barely visible in the woodline. Parts of vehicles were strewn across the highway.

A fifth vehicle, a pickup truck pulling a camper, was forced to veer into the grassy median to avoid the wreckage but its driver and passenger were not injured.

An hour or so after the crash, Jackson County Emergency Services Director Earl Etheridge and Acadian Ambulance supervisor Frank Duke were injured in a second collision about a mile from the first crash site.

MHP began diverting traffic at Exit 68 south onto Mississippi 613 as early as 9:30 a.m. Westbound traffic was at a standstill for several hours.

MHP is investigating the deadly crash. The Gautier Police Department is investigating the second crash.



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Two people were injured in a second wreck in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 on Wednesday, including a Ford Expedition from Jackson County Emergency Services. Earl Etheridge, emergency services director, is shown on a gurney to the left. The wreck was not far from a multiple vehicle wreck earlier in morning that claimed four lives and shut down all westbound lanes. John Fitzhugh jcfitzhugh@sunherald.com

  May 24, 2017 12:01 PM
Two Jackson County first responders crash near scene of fatal wreck

By Karen Nelson
klnelson@sunherald.com

Gautier, MS

Two emergency responders were injured when they collided about a mile west of a deadly four-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 on Wednesday.

Jackson County Emergency Services Director Earl Etheridge and Acadian Ambulance supervisor Frank Duke were taken from the wreck on I-10 to Ocean Springs Hospital before noon Wednesday. Both were treated and released.

The wreck occurred in the westbound lanes of I-10.

It involved a Ford Expedition SUV with a Jackson County Emergency Services logo and a Ford pickup with a state government tag.

The vehicles were traveling west on I-10 when they collided, according to people at the scene.

The SUV wound up in the median of the interstate and appeared to be rear-ended by the pickup, which had heavy front-end damage.

The two had been responding to a four-vehicle crash that has claimed four lives, caused a diesel spill and resulted in the closure of all westbound lanes. Emergency workers were still on scene when the second collision occurred.



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Four people were killed in a wreck on I-10 two miles west of exit 61 in Jackson County. A second wreck about a mile west of the fatal sent two people to the hospital. John Fitzhugh jcfitzhugh@sunherald.com

Two 18-wheelers and two passenger vehicles were involved in the first crash, Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Chase Elkins.

The deadly collision occurred at the 63-mile marker just past the 4-mile-long bridge over the Pascagoula River.

Westbound lanes will be closed until at least 1 p.m., according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s latest alert.