Multi-vehicle wreck kills log truck driver in Rankin County

RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) - A highway wreck involving four vehicles killed a log truck driver in South Rankin County Thursday morning.

According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, at about 9:35 a.m., multiple drivers heading east on Highway 18 near Puckett were in the process of coming to a stop behind a trash hauler.

A tractor-trailer log truck crashed into the back of another tractor-trailer that had come to a near stop behind the line of cars.

Log truck driver 33-year-old Christopher E. Raynes of Mt. Olive, sustained fatal injuries in the collision. The other tractor-trailer driver, Koron Meeks, 30, of Raymond, was uninjured.

The driver of a jeep that was struck was transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center with unknown injuries. Occupants of a Ford Utility truck also involved in the collision were uninjured.

Highway 18 was closed while the scene - including logs strewn across the highway - was cleared.

The accident is under investigation by MHP.

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