A Brookhaven woman was killed Thursdayafternoon in a automobile accident on Interstate 55 south a fewmiles north of the city, authorities said.

    Samantha King, 29, was a passenger in a 2005 Jeep Liberty, drivenby 47-year-old Denise Howell, of Brookhaven, that went off the roadand struck a tree, said Mississippi Highway Patrol Staff Sgt. RustyBoyd. The accident happened around 4:45 p.m. about three-tenths ofa mile south of the 45-mile marker.

    King, who was wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the sceneby Lincoln County Coroner Clay McMorris.

    “The impact was on the passenger’s side (of the vehicle),” McMorrissaid.

    Howell, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was transported toSouthwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center. Information on hercondition was not available.

    Boyd said the cause of the accident is still under investigation.McMorris added his office’s investigation also is continuing.

    Information on funeral arrangements for King was not available.