The crash, investigation and suspect: What to know about teens forced off I-10

A 19-year-old driver accused of running three Bay High teenagers off Interstate 10 in Harrison County and into a water-filled canal has been taken into custody. The March 6 crash left all three teens injured, and the driver faces only misdemeanor charges because Mississippi law reserves the felony charge for cases involving mutilation, permanent disability or death.

Here are key takeaways:

• The suspect: Jakiyah Monyei Brooks, 19, of Brookhaven was taken into custody Thursday by Brookhaven police and Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies. She is being held in the Lincoln County jail on a Harrison County hold.

• The charges: Brooks faces four misdemeanor counts — reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, unsafe lane change and no proof of insurance.

• The crash: Witnesses said a red Kia Soul, eastbound on Interstate 10, forced the teens’ Chevrolet Impala off the road. The car flipped three times and landed upside down in a water-filled canal. Two passersby, James and J.D. Durant, rescued the teens.

• The injuries: Driver Mariah Gill, 18, required knee surgery. One of her younger brothers suffered a fractured eye socket and the other had a cut to his thigh.

• The investigation: The teens’ mother, Marie Garside, rode along Menge Avenue to spot cameras that were used to identify the Kia. Gill signed affidavits against Brooks at Justice Court in Gulfport.

• Brooks’ account: In an interview with investigators, Brooks denied knowing she hit anything more than a traffic cone.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.

Margaret Baker

Sun Herald

601-909-0541

Margaret is an investigative reporter whose search for truth exposed corrupt sheriffs, a police chief and various jailers and led to the first prosecution of a federal hate crime for the murder of a transgendered person. She worked on the Sun Herald’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Hurricane Katrina team. When she pursues a big story, she is relentless.

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