Friday Storm Creates Havoc In County
Two vehicles sit on the east side of Highway 51 at the CR 8 intersection after a crash Friday evening. Several pairs of rubber gloves were scattered around the scene where emergency responders worked on the victims before they were transported by ambulance.
A file aerial view of the Highway 51 and CR 8 intersection south of Tillatoba. The intersection has been the scene of several accidents over the years.
The leading edge of a severe thunderstorm that moved through the area Friday evening. The Herald photographer stopped south of the CR 96 intersection with Highway 7 and took this photo after having run through high winds which almost blew his vehicle off the road and covered it with pine needles.
Loyal Blue Devil fans stopped for hot dogs and hamburgers before rain spoiled the meet the Devils night at Bobby Clark Field.
YALOBUSHA – Mother Nature blitzed the Water Valley Blue Devils Friday night.
A severe thunderstorm rolled into the area around 6:30 right as the team prepared for meet the Devils night at Bobby Clark Field.
“Maybe it’s an omen of good luck,” commented a booster club member, “sort of like having it rain on your wedding.”
WVHS Principal Glenn Kitchen asked spectators to leave the stadium’s seats as the storm approached. Some fans made a quick stop for hamburgers and hot dogs before the rain began.
The Water Valley Football Booster Club put on the event to give fans a chance to view the newly renovated fieldhouse and meet the new coach, Brad Embry, and his staff. Both the Jr. High and High School football teams were scheduled to practice and scrimmage.
Meanwhile, on the other side of county, the torrential rain is considered a contributing factor in two crashes that injured seven people.
Emergency responders were called to the intersection of Highway 51 and County Road 8 just south of Tillatoba where two automobiles collided sometime around 7 p.m.
A bystander said that one of the vehicles either ran the stop sign on CR 8 or was unable to stop because of the water standing in the road.
Several off-duty Yalobusha County law enforcement officers including Sheriff Lance Humphreys were in Oakland and able to get to the scene quickly.
Firefighters were also called to the accident to extricate the victims. Three people from one vehicle and a fourth from the other were transported to Grenada Lake Medical Center. The condition of the victims is unknown.
Emergency responders had just finished their work when they were called to the northbound lane of I-55 at mile marker 224 approximately three miles south of Oakland.
A sports utility vehicle left the road, went down an embankment, and came to rest in a creek. The female driver and a female passenger carrying a baby were able to get out of the vehicle, climb the embankment, and walk northbound on the Interstate. A passerby pulled off the road and put the victims in their vehicle until emergency workers arrived.
Unrelated to the weather, a motorcycle crash on Saturday took the life of a Batesville man on Highway 315 about twelve miles northwest of Water Valley in Panola County.
Stephen D. Jaco, 45, of 6740 Highway 6, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding left the highway and struck and embankment. The accident was reported at 3:53 p.m.
