Harrison County

South MS teens survived after driver forced car into a canal. Here’s what to know

Three siblings were injured when a driver forced their car off Interstate 10 in Harrison County, Mississippi, sending it flipping into a water-filled canal, their mother and witnesses have said.

Their mother, Marie Garside, turned to Facebook to track down the driver, who fled the scene.

FULL STORY: Injured teen, brothers recovering after reckless driver plunges them into canal

Here are key takeaways:

Three teenagers had just gotten out of school at Bay High in Bay St. Louis when they were run off the road into a canal, their mother said. They were eastbound on Interstate 10 in Harrison County. All three were injured and the Mississippi Highway Patrol has a suspect in the case.
Three teenagers had just gotten out of school at Bay High in Bay St. Louis when they were run off the road into a canal, their mother said. They were eastbound on Interstate 10 in Harrison County. All three were injured and the Mississippi Highway Patrol has a suspect in the case. Courtesy of Marie Garside

• Mariah Gill, 18, was driving her two brothers, ages 15 and 16, after the three got out of school March 6 at Bay High when a red Kia Soul began swerving through lanes and tried to force their Chevrolet Impala off I-10 eastbound, Gill and witnesses said

• The Impala hit a fence, flipped three times and landed upside down in the canal, Garside said Water started filling the car as the teens tried to beat their way out.

• Two passersby, James and J.D. Durant, pulled the brothers and Gill from the vehicle. “I don’t think these kids would be alive today” without them, Garside said.

Mariah Gill, 18, a senior at Bay High in Bay St. Louis, was driving her two teenage brothers, also Bay High students, to the screen print shop her mother and stepfather own in Long Beach, when she was forced off Interstate 10 eastbound by the driver of a Kia Soul, her mother said. Her mother put information on Facebook that eventually led to the car in Brookhaven, with a suspect identified in the Mississippi Highway Patrol’s investigation.
Mariah Gill, 18, a senior at Bay High in Bay St. Louis, was driving her two teenage brothers, also Bay High students, to the screen print shop her mother and stepfather own in Long Beach, when she was forced off Interstate 10 eastbound by the driver of a Kia Soul, her mother said. Her mother put information on Facebook that eventually led to the car in Brookhaven, with a suspect identified in the Mississippi Highway Patrol’s investigation.

• Gill’s right knee required surgery, and her mother expects a lengthy recovery. The 16-year-old broke a facial bone, and both boys were bruised.

• Garside posted about the crash on Facebook that same evening. Witnesses responded, and she tracked down traffic cameras along Menge Avenue, where the Kia had exited. Law enforcement used the footage to identify the vehicle from its plate.

• The Kia Soul has been located in Brookhaven, and a suspect is under investigation, the Mississippi Highway Patrol confirmed.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.

Profile Image of Anita Lee
Anita Lee
Sun Herald
601-909-0638
Anita, a Mississippi native, graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and previously worked at the Jackson Daily News and Virginian-Pilot, joining the Sun Herald in 1987. She specializes in in-depth coverage of government, public corruption, transparency and courts. She has won state, regional and national journalism awards, most notably contributing to Hurricane Katrina coverage awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. Support my work with a digital subscription
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER