Picayune officer struck while managing construction traffic

Published 2:50 pm Wednesday, December 16, 2020

A Picayune police officer was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Highway 11 and Highway 43 North Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect vehicle was traveling on Highway 43 before the driver stopped at the intersection of Highway 43 and 11 facing west, said Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Maj. Joe Quave. Witnesses said that after the vehicle stopped, it began to travel through the intersection even though the light was red, said Quave.

After entering the intersection without the right of way, the vehicle struck the car on the opposite side of the intersection. The momentum of the impact sent the car that was struck backwards, and it collided with the vehicle stopped behind it.

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The suspect vehicle then bounced off of the car it struck and hit a Picayune police officer. The officer was working the intersection to help manage traffic due to construction in the area as part of the Highway 11 widening project. He saw the vehicle coming through the intersection and avoided the initial impact, said Quave.

The officer suffered minor injuries, as did the driver of the vehicle that was initially struck. The driver of the vehicle that went through the intersection, 37-year-old Heath Broom, also suffered minor injuries.

Broom said he remembered being at the intersection and then blacked out before entering the intersection, said Quave. Broom was transported to Highland Community Hospital, where the Sheriff’s Office obtained a blood sample from him. No arrests have been made but the collision is still under investigation.