Police still investigating Hwy. 51 wreck
Published 10:24 am Tuesday, April 22, 2014
A Friday night accident that involved at least three vehicles on Highway 51 in Brookhaven is still under investigation by the police department.
Police Chief Bobby Bell said a black Dodge Charger driven by Josh Banks of Brookhaven was traveling south on Highway 51 at a high rate of speed around 6 p.m. Friday when his vehicle clipped a GMC pickup truck, flipping the truck. The pickup was driven by Crystal Bowman of Jackson Liberty Drive, Bell said.
After hitting the pickup, the Charger then struck a BMW driven by Donald Case of Brookhaven, Bell said. Both Case and Bowman were traveling south on Highway 51, according to Bell.
The accident occurred close to O’Reilly Auto Parts at 112 Highway 51 N, Bell said, adding that the Charger then traveled into the Car City parking lot at 112 Highway 51 N. where it struck several parked cars.
Bell said Banks was taken to the hospital but has been released. The chief said officers were still working on the accident report as of late Monday afternoon and he was not able to confirm whether there were any other injuries from the wreck.
However, Bowman’s mother-in-law, Mary Bowman, told The Daily Leader Monday afternoon that Crystal Bowman and her husband Michael Bowman (Mary Bowman’s son), who was a passenger in the GMC pickup, were treated and released from the hospital in McComb.
Bell said the Charger may have struck yet another vehicle in the Union Street area on Highway 51 prior to the three-vehicle wreck, but police had not been able to verify that accident as of Monday afternoon.
“They’ve been working on it all weekend and trying to decide what actually happened,” Bell explained late Monday afternoon.
The chief said Banks has been charged with reckless driving and no proof of insurance. Banks also faces a charge of leaving the scene of an accident in connection with the reported wreck in the Union Street area, Bell said.