STONE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) – Officials say an Ocean Springs teen was killed and two other women were injured in an early morning wreck on Tuesday, Dec. 5 on Highway 49 in Stone County.
A 2016 Dodge Charger driven by 45-year-old Valerie Shanta Smith of Beaumont, MS, traveled north on Highway 49 when it collided with a 2013 Kia Optima driven by 18-year-old Kyla Watkins, and passengers Sedhari S. Watson-Person and Tatyanna Richmond, all from Ocean Springs, also traveling north on Highway 49.
Sedhari Watson-Person, a front-seat passenger of the Kia Optima, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The wreck happened just before 2 a.m. in the northbound lanes between Sunflower and Hershel Road.
The drivers of both vehicles were airlifted from the scene with life-threatening injuries.
Stone County South Central Fire Chief Thomas Muffler told WLOX News the teens were actually on the phone with dispatch reporting a problem with an 18-wheeler with a wheel sparking on the opposite side of the highway when the crash happened.
The three young women in the Kia were all students at MGCCC Perkinston Campus. All three women were also Gautier High School graduates.
“The Pascagoula-Gautier School District family is deeply saddened to hear of the tragic accident involving three of our Gautier High School graduates,” said Superintendent Billy Ellzey. “Counselors were at Gautier High School throughout the day offering support and counseling to students coping with the tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of these three young ladies.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. MGCCC is offering support and counseling to students as they cope with this tragedy.
