Two people were killed and at least another 10 were injured, including three critically, after parts of a major roadway in Mississippi were washed away by heavy rain dumped on the region by Hurricane Ida.
Written content from Jessica Schladebeck
The deadly incident occurred on the two-lane Highway 26 in George County on Monday around 10 p.m., according to Highway Patrol Cp. Cal Robertson. When emergency workers and rescue teams responded to the stretch of road in Lucedale, a city about 60 miles northeast of Biloxi, they discovered both the east and westbound lanes collapsed.
In all, seven vehicles, including a motorcycle, were pulled by crane from a hole created by the washout, which measured about 50 feet in length and 20 feet deep. Robertson speculated some of the drivers likely did not realize the road in front of them had disappeared and unexpectedly plunged into the opening.
“Some of these cars are stacked on top of each other,” he explained. “I’ve never seen anything in my 23 years in law enforcement like this.”
Robertson told CNN he believes the highway, a main artery between Mississippi and Louisiana, was destroyed by the torrential rain brought on by Hurricane Ida. An estimated 3,100 and 5,700 vehicles drive along the stretch of highway on an average day, according to Mississippi Department of Transportation data.
Hurricane Ida roared ashore Sunday as a Category 4 storm, one of the most powerful ever to hit the U.S. mainland. It knocked out power to much of southeastern Louisiana, including all of New Orleans, and southern Mississippi. Roofs were ripped from building and the flow of the Mississippi River, reversed. Read more from DN
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