An Oktibbeha County Circuit Court filing has shed light on how much each party in a civil case against the Mississippi Department of Public Safety received in court-ordered payments.
In June, Mississippi 16th Circuit Judge Lee Coleman ordered MDPS to pay $500,000 in the case of Tanequa Alexander v. Mississippi Department of Public Safety. The case spawned from a May 2017 wreck on Highway 182 that injured Alexander and Noel Collier and killed former Mississippi State University student-athlete Kaelin Kersh.
On Jan. 9, Coleman ordered the payments to be divided between Alexander, Collier and the Kersh estate. According to the order, which was filed on Jan. 14, Alexander received $133,333, Collier received $83,333 and the Kersh estate received $283,334.
The wreck happened on May 7, 2017, at the intersection of Mayhew Road and Highway 182. The car which Collier was driving and Alexander and Kersh were passengers in was hit by a Mississippi Highway Patrol cruiser while attempting to turn from Mayhew Road onto Highway 182.
MHP Trooper Kyle Lee was driving eastbound on Highway 182, reportedly in response to a vehicle that had left the road, when he collided with the car. He reportedly did not activate his flashing lights or siren.
Last year, state legislators passed, and Gov. Phil Bryant signed into law, the Kaelin Kersh Act, which requires emergency responders to turn on flashing lights when going more than 30 miles per hour faster than the speed limit.
Lee was indicted for culpable negligence manslaughter last week. According to his indictment, he was driving at speeds of up to 99 miles per hour.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.