A Columbus teenager and West Point High School student has died following a car accident in Clay County Tuesday evening.
A Mississippi Highway Patrol press release identified the victim as 16-year-old Jonathan Dean Fondren.
The accident occurred at about 5:30 p.m. Fondren was heading east on Highway 50 near Pate Road. The gray 2005 Nissan he was driving collided with a 2007 white Dodge Nitro driven by Robert Fisher Jr., 66, of West Point, who was heading west, according to the press release. Fisher was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle.
An MHP spokesperson did not indicate which vehicle was in the incorrect lane when the accident occurred, citing the ongoing investigation, but did say authorities do not expect to file any charges.
Before transferring to WPHS, Fondren attended school at Heritage Academy for several years. A Heritage spokesperson said he still had many friends who attended the school.
“Jonathan Fondren was a former student and member of our soccer team,” Heritage Headmaster Greg Carlyle said in a released statement. “He was a kind-hearted young man who has many friends at our school. We began our day with a prayer service for him and had ministers and counselors available for our students and staff. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jonathan’s family and friends.”
WPHS officials did not return a call from The Dispatch by press time.
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