Two men are dead following fatal car crashes in Newton County last week.
On Aug. 28, Mississippi Highway Patrol reported Adrian Coleman, 49, of Meridian was traveling toward Union on Highway 494 shortly after 1 p.m. when he lost control of his Toyota Sequoia rounding a curve. The vehicle left the road and struck a tree.
According to the incident report, Coleman was not wearing a seatbelt. No other vehicles were involved.
Union police and fire rescue responded to another single car accident Friday afternoon on Highway 489. Newton County Coroner Danny Shoemaker said the victim, Lucas Leon Arthur, 38, of Union, also left the road after losing control of his vehicle.
“A passenger car lost control and ran off the road,” he said.
Shoemaker said Arthur was thrown out of the car by the wreck and died of his injuries. It is unclear if Arthur was wearing a seatbelt.
Having two fatal single car accidents in the same week, Shoemaker said, is unusual for Newton County.
“It’s much like anywhere else. You go for weeks and then suddenly it all breaks loose,” he said. “But it is odd.”
With both incidents involving drivers losing control, Shoemaker urged motorists to stay alert behind the wheel and slow down.
