Three dead in fiery highway smash up

Three people are dead in an afternoon crash on westbound Interstate 20 at the 17-mile mark.

The crash was called in at 1:51 p.m.

Units with the Bovina Fire Department were a mile away working an earlier 18-wheeler accident involving an overturned UPS truck that had shut down the westbound lanes of I-20. The backup of traffic was a contributing factor to the accident that occurred a 1/3 of a mile from the Hinds County line.

The mangled and still burning wreckage where 3 people perished (photo by David Day)

A heavy 18-wheeler was traveling at a high rate of speed and impacted the stopped traffic according to initial information. The 18-wheeler was hauling Arizona Tea and hit a GMC Yukon pushing it into a Ford Escort and finally hitting another 18-wheeler that was full of compacted cardboard.

The 18-wheeler with the compacted cardboard was pushed into a Dodge truck that was pushed with great force into a black F-150. One of the vehicles caught fire, trapping three victims in the mangled vehicles.

The driver of the Dodge truck, the truck driver hauling Arizona Tea and the passenger in the Yukon were all transported to Jackson area hospitals. There is no updated report on their conditions, but all three are expected to survive.

The driver of the Yukon was trapped, as were the two people in the Escort. All three perished in the accident.

The burned and mutilated Ford Escort on the back of the trailer(photo by David Day)

Units from Hinds County, Warren County, City of Vicksburg, Warren County Emergency Management, Hinds County Emergency Services, MDEQ, the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the Warren County Sheriff’s office along with Edwards Police Chief T. Crump all were on scene.

Wards towing worked their 35-ton wrecker to pull the cars and semi’s apart as rescue units worked to extract the victims from the crushed vehicles.

The Vicksburg Daily News is withholding the names of the victims until we are advised that all family members have been notified. At least 2 of the victims are Warren County residents.