Trailer breaks loose, kills eastbound motorist

By MARGARET BAKER

mbbaker@sunherald.com

JACKSON COUNTY -- An eastbound motorist died this afternoon after her vehicle was hit head-on by a trailer that had come loose from a truck and crossed the Interstate 10 median, Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Johnny Poulos said.

Poulos said the female driver's name would be released pending notification of next of kin.

The accident happened after a trailer broke loose from a westbound Ford F-150, and the trailer crossed the median, hitting the woman's Toyota in the eastbound lanes of I-10 at the Alabama state line.

Poulos said the truck's driver was not injured and did stop on the shoulder of the westbound lane of the interstate when the trailer broke loose.

The Sun Herald will update this story as details become available.

Two confirmed dead in Ohatchee wreck

Published June 27, 2008

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Two people are confirmed dead in a traffic accident that leaves a stretch of Alabama Highway 77 South of Ohatchee blocked.

The wreck occurred this morning. The Etowah County Sheriff's Department dive team was called to assist the Ohatchee Police Department in searching for victims. The bodies of a male driver and female passenger were pulled from the water.

Officials would not relate any details about the victims other than to say they were from "north of" Ohatchee.

Reports from the scene indicate the victims were in an 18-wheeler pulling an empty box trailer. A utility trailer either came loose from the pickup towing it or went out of control, and reports said the driver of the 18-wheeler swerved to avoid the trailer and ran off into the water.

It was unclear if the victims were killed in the wreck or drowned.