Baton Rouge truck driver is hospitalized with life-threatening injuries in I-10 crash

Investigators with the Mississippi Highway Patrol are trying to determine what caused a Baton Rouge man driving a pest-control truck to drive off Interstate 10 near Long Beach on Saturday morning.

MHP spokesman Chase Elkins said Jerick D. Peck, 21, was in the eastbound lane near the County Farm Road exit when he ran his white 2010 Ford F-350 off the road. Elkins said the truck rolled several times.

Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said sheriff’s officials closed I-10 for about 45 minutes as rescue crews from Harrison County Fire Services and West Harrison County Fire Department worked to get Peck out of the truck.

Sullivan said the state Department of Environmental Quality was called to oversee cleanup of chemicals that spilled from the truck.

Elkins said Peck was taken to Garden Park Medical Center in Gulfport with life-threatening injuries.

Peck was then flown to USA Medical Center in Mobile via helicopter.

Sullivan said one lane of I-10 was reopened while the scene was being cleaned up by officials. The accident caused hours-long traffic delays near the exit.

This story was originally published August 20, 2016 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Baton Rouge truck driver is hospitalized with life-threatening injuries in I-10 crash."