‘Worst thing I’ve ever seen.’ Coroner IDs 2 men killed in George County highway collapse

Both identifications have been made of two drivers who died when a portion of Highway 26 collapsed late Monday night due to heavy rains from Hurricane Ida in South Mississippi.

Jerry Lee, 42, of Lucedale, was pronounced dead at 1:20 a.m., George County Coroner DeeAnn Murrah said early Tuesday morning.

Kent Brown, 49, of Leakesville, was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m.

“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” Murrah told the Sun Herald. “It was absolutely pitiful. The road just collapsed from all the rain. I think it was seven cars that was retrieved from where the road collapsed.”

The area of the highway that collapsed is near Crossroad Road in George County.

Mississippi state troopers, George County sheriff’s deputies and law enforcement from various other agencies, including the transportation officials, responded to the scenes.

Crews worked into Monday morning using heavy equipment to remove the wrecked cars and making other life saving attempts at the scene.

A total of 10 injuries have been reported, with two of them dead and three in critical condition.

Check back with SunHerald.com for updates to this story.

This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 7:47 AM.

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.