Troopers from the Mississippi Highway Patrol worked two fatal wrecks and issued over 8,000 tickets during the New Year holiday.
One of the fatal accidents occurred in Yalobusha County in north Mississippi, while the other was in Neshoba County. Both crashes remain under investigation.
During the four-day holiday enforcement period from Friday, Dec. 30, at 6 p.m. through Monday, Jan. 2 at midnight, MHP issued 8,037 citations, including 164 arrests for impaired driving and 858 tickets for seat beat and child restraint violations. Troopers handed out nearly 15,000 citations during the holiday enforcement period last year.
Troopers responded to a four-vehicle collision Monday, Jan. 2, at approximately 12:20 p.m., on Interstate 55 in Yalobusha County.
According to the results of a preliminary investigation by MHP, a 2017 Dodge Charger driven by Glen E. Bess, 42, of Waynesville, Mo., was traveling north when it rear-ended the 2001 Jeep Laredo driven by Dennis L. Mudbone, 75, of Memphis.
A MHP report stated the impact caused Mudbone’s Jeep to cross the median and collide with two southbound vehicles – a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe and a 2013 Nissan Rogue. Mudbone received fatal injuries from the crash, according to MHP.
Eli K. McIntyre, 19, of Boswell, Okla., who was a passenger in the Nissan, received moderate injuries from the crash and was transported to a local hospital. The driver of the Chevrolet, James I. Inman, 19, and his passengers Tina Inman, 43, and Keith Ashcraft, 16, all of Popular Bluff, Mo., received no injuries.
Bess and the two passengers in the Dodge, Joshua Bess, 42, and Rhiannon Bess, 12, both of Waynesville, Mo., were not injured.
Batesville-based Troop E, which covers 10 counties in northwest Mississippi, was responsible for a state-high 32 of the total 164 DUI arrests. Three of those DUI arrests were in Tate County.
Troop E also made eight drug arrests and worked 19 traffic accidents resulting in seven injuries and one death. There were 71 tickets issued in north Mississippi to motorists not wearing a seat belt and eight for no child restraint in vehicle.
