A Mississippi woman is mourning the loss of both her mother and her daughter, killed in a crash when their car was struck by an alleged drunk driver.
The three generations piled into the car for an outing, joined by the woman’s son, and were traveling on Highway 35 in Forest, Mississippi. As they attempted to turn left onto Earl Johnston Drive, their car was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by a 57-year-old man.
Pronounced dead at the scene was a 64-year-old woman. Her 11-year-old granddaughter died en route to the hospital, according to the Forest’s police chief. The driver and her son suffered injuries that were considered nonlife-threatening.
Grandmother and granddaughter were sitting on the passenger side of the vehicle, which was hit directly in the collision.
The man driving the pickup truck faces two counts of aggravated DUI causing the death of a person in the deaths of the woman and her granddaughter.
Police said toxicology reports showed that the man’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was above the legal limit when the crash occurred. His bond was set at $150,000.
The man was employed as a principal analog/RF engineer at a large company in Forest at the time of the accident. The company has declined to inform the local media about his current job status.
This family likely never will be whole again after the tragic loss of a grandmother and a child, and the survivors face a long, emotional healing process. The reality is that this one family outing took two precious family members and left them with bills for final arrangements. An attorney experienced in wrongful death cases can advise the family about the next step.