FIRST RESPONDERS
A mother and daughter from Wilcox County lost their lives crossing Gray Highway last week.
The deceased are listed as Rhonda Lynn Kennedy, 59, and Hazel Wallace, 75, both from Pitts. The accident happened just before 6 p.m., Dec. 5, at the intersection of Homer Roberts Road and Gray Highway.
According to a report of the accident by Jones County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chris Shurley, the Kia driven by Kennedy was stopped at the stop sign on Homer Roberts Road while the Freightliner log truck was traveling northbound on Gray Highway toward Gray.
The deputy said the Kia entered the highway in the path of the truck that was traveling in the left lane. He said impact was made in the left-hand lane, and both vehicles came to rest in the median and turning lane on the southbound side of the four-lane highway.
Shurley said the driver of the truck told him he tried to avoid the collision by locking up his brakes. He said the Kia never stopped, and they collided.
A witness to the accident, who was behind the truck, told the deputy that the truck driver made every attempt to avoid striking the car, but there was nothing he could do.
Deputy Coroner Stacy Gardner said both victims died of multiple blunt force trauma and were pronounced deceased at the scene.
Statistics from the JCSO show there have been 11 accidents at that intersection over the last two years, with five of them involving two vehicles. The other six were one-car accidents or collisions with wildlife.
The last fatality occurred at the intersection in May of 2019.
