A Picayune man now faces DUI charges after his truck crossed a parking lot, a median and two lanes of traffic before colliding with a parked truck, forcing it into the lobby of Picayune Tire.
The incident occurred early Tuesday morning. Kelvie Culpepper said surveillance footage captured in front of their business shows the truck coming from the Claiborne Hill parking lot, crossing both lanes of traffic as it crossed the median and colliding with a truck parked in front of her husband’s business. Culpepper said her husband is out of town on a mission trip.
The collision forced the truck parked in front of the business to crash through the reinforced storefront, which was built to protect from collisions, Culpepper said. During construction of the lobby, she said her husband reinforced the front of the building with concrete and rebar in between the brick. According to the surveillance footage, the collision occurred at about 4:46 that morning.
“Thank God nobody was here,” Culpepper said. “Somebody would have died.”
The vehicle parked in front of the business was left by a customer so minor repairs could be conducted. Culpepper said the owner of the parked vehicle had already invested a lot of money into having repairs completed.
Picayune Police Department Assistant Chief Jeremy Magri said the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident was identified as 32-year-old John Lilly Jr., of 56 Richardson Ozona Road. He was charged with DUI and possession of paraphernalia after officers responded to the scene and found a syringe and spoon in his possession, Magri said. Lilly was transported to Highland Community Hospital first for treatment of minor injuries before being officially booked into the Picayune Criminal Justice Center.
Culpepper said it might take a month to repair the damage, but in the meantime the business will continue to operate.