West Point Police Department is investigating a traffic accident that killed an Alabama man on Highway 45 Alternate near the Hampton Inn Monday.
Clay County Coroner Alvin Carter identified the victim in the accident as Neil Allen Hays Sr., 49, of Leroy, Alabama.
The accident occurred at about 11 a.m. when the tractor-trailer Hays was driving rear-ended another vehicle, according to WPPD Assistant Chief Kennedy Meaders.
Meaders and Carter said Hays lost control of the tractor-trailer, which left the road and overturned.
Carter pronounced Hays dead at the scene. Hays’ body has been sent to the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office in Pearl for autopsy.
Carter said while it was possible Hays simply lost control of the vehicle, he is not ruling out that he may have been suffering from a medical issue at the time of the accident.
There were no other injuries in the accident, Meaders said.
Meaders said the tractor-trailer was carrying a hazardous, corrosive material called black liquor, but that the vehicle’s tank was not leaking. Authorities cordoned off the area where the accident occurred and contacted the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. He added everyone in the area was safe during clean-up.
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