The Mississippi Highway Patrol on Tuesday released details about a weekend crash in Clayton Village that left a Dispatch newspaper carrier in critical condition.
Winston Minor had just driven his silver 2003 Ford Explorer south down the Highway 82 off-ramp Sunday at about 2 a.m. and was attempting to cross Highway 182 when he was struck on the driver”s side by a westbound 2007 Freightliner, said Mississippi Highway Patrol Public Affairs Officer Brian Mobley. It is unclear if Minor came to a halt or ran the stop sign at the end of the off-ramp, Mobley said.
“The only people who would know that are the two drivers,” Mobley said. “Even if he did stop, at some point he came out into the flow of traffic.”
Minor was transported to Oktibbeha County Hospital, then flown to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He was still in critical condition this morning.
The driver of the tractor trailer, Welliam Reed, of Richmond, Va., received minor injuries in the crash and was treated at OCH. Police haven”t filed any charges against Reed.
“The truck had the right-of-way,” Mobley said.
Minor is an independent contractor who has delivered newspapers for The Dispatch off and on for nearly 30 years. He contracted with The Dispatch in 1982, then left in 1996 and went to work for Starkville Daily News. He returned to The Dispatch in 2001 and has been delivering papers ever since.
Minor always took his German Shepherd, Abigail, with him while delivering papers and had the dog Sunday when he was struck by the tractor-trailer. The dog was not injured in the crash.
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