WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Two killed in late-night collision

Two killed in late-night collision

By Maggie Wade - bio| email

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Two people are in critical condition at University Medical Center after a head-on collision in Jackson.

It happened late Wednesday night on Old Canton Road, just east of Ridgewood Road.

A mangled frame is all that is left of a Chevrolet pickup truck. Police say they can't make out plates or much else about the vehicle.

Shortly after 10:30 Wednesday night, a black Mercedes was headed westbound on Old Canton Road. The truck was headed eastbound. Somehow the vehicles collided head-on.

"I thought it was like an 18-wheeler lost control and went through the brick wall," said Africano Stapleton, who tried to help the victims. "That's what it sounded like."

Witnesses reported hearing explosions after the collision.

"My dad said, 'Let's see if we can get them out if they're trapped,'" reported Stapleton. "By the time I got outside I realized that the truck had exploded instantly upon impact, and the Mercedes was so crushed-in that I told someone it's going to take the 'jaws of life' to get them out."

The truck burst into flames upon impact. It came to rest on a brick wall which is the entrance to The Glenn apartments.

Two bodies were found inside the truck, burned beyond recognition.

The heat from the explosion was so intense the tires on the truck melted. The impact was so severe that one tire was knocked off and landed down the street.

Two people who were inside the Mercedes were taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

"I saw a female driving the Mercedes," Stapleton said, "and I saw an older male in the passenger seat."

"The two people in the black car -- they were alive when they left here," reported another eyewitness. "She was talking, but they were really bad."

"We are currently interviewing witnesses who are on the scene," said police spokesman Jeffery Scott. "It's not clear which one of the vehicles may have crossed the median to cause the collision, so again that's under investigation at this point."

Lt. Scott says it may take some time to identify the victims in the pickup truck.

A number of people in the area stopped and tried to help the accident victims. Firefighters were called to put out the flames that engulfed the truck.

"Horrific is probably too light of a word to describe this accident," Scott said. "There were two individuals inside the Chevy pickup who were subsequently burned to death after the collision."

For now the police investigation will focus on identifying the two bodies and determining what caused this fiery crash.