Two killed in Pine Belt crashes

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - Two people were killed in separate crashes in Lamar County and Perry County on Thursday night and Friday morning.

Mississippi Highway Patrol responded to a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 59 southbound near mile marker 48 in Lamar County around 10:15 p.m. Friday.

MHP Troop J spokesman Sgt. Travis Luck said a Ford Escape and a Volkswagen Jetta were travelling south when the Ford Escape collided into the rear of the Volkswagen Jetta. Both vehicles went off the right shoulder and the Jetta hit a tree.

Luck said an unrestrained passenger in the Jetta, identified as 21-year-old Dante Carroll, of Harpursville, New York, was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Friday, troopers responded to a one-vehicle crash on MS Highway 42 in Perry County near Camp Eight Road around 11:45 a.m.

Luck said a pickup truck traveling east left the roadway and collided into a tree. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, though the identity of the driver has not been released.

Both crashes remain under investigation, according to Luck.