A man was killed early Christmas morning when his vehicle crashed off the side of Hwy. 80 just west of Newton.
Newton County Coroner Danny Shoemaker identified the victim as Jeffrey Alan Hunter, 50. The victim had a Meridian address on his license, but the Mississippi Highway Patrol identified the victim’s residence as Forest.
In a statement released today by the Mississippi Highway Patrol, Hunter was apparently driving a 2003 Nissan Murano in the westbound lane of Hwy. 80 just west of Newton when his vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree.
Shoemaker said the Newton County Sheriff’s was called to the scene at 2:05 a.m. Friday, Dec. 25, and the victim was found dead on the scene still in his car. He was pronounced dead around 3 a.m. due to blunt force trauma.
The Newton Fire Department also responded to the scene.
There were no other people in the victim’s vehicle, and there were apparently no other vehicles involved.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
This was one of three fatal crashes that occurred in Mississippi over the weekend.
On at 3:46 a.m. Friday, the Mississippi Highway Patrol responded to a traffic crash on Hwy. 603 in Hancock County that killed two people.
A 2006 GMC pickup driven by Colton L. Northrup, 20, of Pass Christian was traveling northbound. A 2016 Jeep SUV driven by Jessica M. Hoyt, 28, of Pulaski, Va., was traveling southbound. Both vehicles were involved in a head-on collision. Both drivers were pronounced dead on scene.
At 11:07 p.m. Sunday, the Mississippi Highway Patrol responded to a fatal traffic crash on Hwy. 45 in Clarke County. A 2002 Ford Explorer driven by Robert C. Wright, 28, of Foley, Ala., was traveling southbound when it left the roadway and overturned. A passenger in the vehicle, Cody D. Wright, 21, died on scene.
All crashes are currently under investigation by MHP.
For the holiday weekend which began Dec. 23 and ended Sunday, MHP responded 201 crashes with 38 injuries. Four of the crashes were alcohol-related.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol concluded its 2020 Christmas holiday travel period which began Wednesday, December 23, at 12:01 a.m. and ended Sunday, December 27 at midnight. MHP issued 5898 citations with 130 DUI arrests. The MHP safety initiative “Home for the Holidays” will continue through the end of the year in order to promote traffic safety.
