Public Relations officer Otis Easterling of Mississippi Highway Patrol reported that a Federal Express 18-Wheeler traveling southbound on Interstate 55 left the road at 4:15 a.m. at mile marker 51 near the Martinsville exit. The driver crashed into the tree line and the truck became engulfed in flames.

     Easterling said the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

     The driver’s name is being withheld pending notification of family members.

     Easterling said Copiah County fire and emergency rescue units, as well as the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, were still working the scene at press time with one lane of Interstate 55 south closed until the scene is cleared.

     The cause of the accident is under investigation.