A Friday night car accident in Columbus left one passenger dead and five passengers injured, according to local law enforcement.
Just after 9 p.m. Friday, a tan 1998 Ford Explorer crashed near the 500 block of Lehmberg Road, said Columbus Police Department Capt. Fred Shelton. Two people were ejected from the vehicle, Shelton said.
Lakesha Armistad Garner, 21, of Green Tree Drive, Apartment B11, of Columbus, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant ruled the cause of death to be massive head trauma. Garner is believed to have been driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, Merchant said Saturday. He said it is undetermined at this time if she was wearing a seat belt. “We know that some folks in the car did not have seat belts on, because they were not available to them,” Merchant said.
The other passengers, all of whom were juveniles, were transferred to and later released from Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, Shelton said.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the accident, and more details will be released Tuesday, Shelton said.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.