Man charged in burning of Delta railroad bridge

Published 6:43 pm Tuesday, July 11, 2017

GRENADA (AP) — A Mississippi man faces a felony charge in the burning of a railroad bridge.

The state fire marshal’s office says Tuesday that 20-year-old Chaz Atkins of Grenada is charged with felony malicious mischief. A fire during the Fourth of July weekend heavily damaged a bridge over the Yalobusha River in the north Mississippi city of Grenada.

Grenada Railroad/Iowa Pacific Railroad officials estimate repairing the bridge will cost $300,000 to $500,000 and work could take a month or longer. The rail line runs from Memphis, Tennessee, through Grenada and south to Canton, Mississippi.

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Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, who doubles as the state fire marshal, says his office investigated the fire with local police, fire and sheriff’s departments.