A state highway patrolman said a two-vehicle accident about 1 p.m. on Tuesday has claimed one life and critically injured two others, near here.

State Trooper First Class Roy Jacobsen III said a pickup truck and car collided about 2.5 miles south of here on 43 North near Byrd’s Chapel Road.

The driver of the pickup was killed, and the other two persons involved in the accident were evacuated by helicopter to Forrest General Hospital. Those evacuated were in critical condition, said Jocobsen.

The dead person and the two injured had not yet been identified at press time Tuesday afternoon, and Jacobsen said the investigation to find out the names and address of those in the accident is continuing.

He said next of kin will be notified as soon as identification is made.

Jacobsen said his investigation and that of a witness indicated that the automobile with a lone driver ran head-on with the pickup. Besides the driver, there was also a passenger in the pickup.

The person in the car was alone.

The driver of the pickup was killed and the passenger was critically injured. The driver of the car was also critically injured, said Jacobsen. An investigation into the accident is continuing, he said.

The truck was southbound and the car northbound on 43, said the officer.