Wednesday evening, two separate motor vehicle accidents occurred almost simultaneously in two different areas of Picayune, one resulted in serious injuries.
At about 7 p.m. that day, Picayune Police officers responded to the two accidents, one of which involved four cars at the Winn-Dixie located on Highway 11.
The accident occurred when the driver of a red Nissan pick up truck, identified as Ozzlemo Magee, 71, of 211 Rosa St., allegedly had a seizure while driving north on Highway 11 South. At the time of the accident, his vehicle first collided with another vehicle, driven by Debra Miller, 46, 107 Carver Dr., causing heavy damage to the car as she was attempting to turn left onto Memorial Boulevard, Picayune Assistant Chief Jeremy Magri said.
The truck then veered off the road, traversed the curb and continued through the Winn-Dixie parking lot where it collided with two unoccupied parked cars, causing heavy damage to both vehicles, before striking a pole attached to the left wing of Winn-Dixie, Magri said.
Magri said emergency responders at the scene believed Magee suffered a seizure and was taken to Highland Community Hospital. No other injuries were reported. An update on his condition was unavailable at press time.
A separate accident occurred at about the same time on West Canal Street. The accident involved a blue Buick Park Avenue Ultra, driven by Jordan Stogner, 32, of 315 Moody Street in Picayune. Magri said Stogner allegedly fell asleep behind the wheel while traveling west near the corner of West Canal Street and Kirkwood Street.
Instead of following the road to the right, Magri said Stogner’s vehicle ran off the roadway and impacted a small tree in front of The Cornerstone at 101 Kirkwood Street.
Magri said officers at the scene immediately noticed Stogner’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy, leading to suspicions that he was intoxicated. The officers then conducted field sobriety tests and as a result, arrested Stogner for driving under the influence.
Officers believed the driver was under the influence of a narcotic, but Stogner refused to provide a blood test. No injuries were reported, Magri said.
This is Stogner’s second DUI offense, Magri said. The first occurred when the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department arrested him for driving under the influence on Nov. 10, 2015.