Vicksburg native Brad Pennington killed in Jackson

A car chase that led to a crash resulted in the death of U.S. Postal Service employee and Vicksburg native Brad Pennington.

Pearl officers attempted to pull over 20-year-old Brandon Andrews on Thursday and eventually chased him into Jackson city limits. Andrews crashed into Pennington’s U.S. Postal service vehicle on Maria Drive and caused him to be transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Photo of Brandon Andrews: Photo from Pearl Police Department

Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart pronounced Pennington dead from what appears to be blunt force head trauma from being ejected from the truck.

Andrews was taken into custody a short time later after fleeing the scene and is currently being held in the Rankin County Detention Center and faces multiple charges.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Mississippi Highway Patrol are both investigating the crash.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba released a statement on Thursday:

“First off, I want to send my condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of the U.S. Postal Service carrier who lost his life today in Jackson. The postal truck was struck by the driver of a vehicle who was involved in a police chase with Pearl police. As a result, the carrier died from injuries sustained in the crash.

According to a media release from the City of Pearl, the pursuit began after the suspect failed to pull over for a traffic stop.

I want to reiterate that police pursuits that enter our City from multiple jurisdictions do not make us safer. There are often tragic outcomes like this one for minor traffic stops, and we have experienced it before. What often isn’t considered is the effect these pursuits have on innocent bystanders and it is something we believe needs to be changed.

We aren’t anti-pursuit. We are anti-pursuit for minor violations which often spillover into tragic consequences for our community. With the advent of new technology, such as a growing camera surveillance network and tag readers, we can apprehend suspects without endangering the public.

If our effort is public safety, it has to be public safety in every regard.

We renew our request to the state Legislature to restrict the offenses for which multi-jurisdictional pursuits can occur in the City of Jackson.”