• NEWS
    • EDUCATION
    • Business
    • Government
    • CRIME
    • Chamber Spotlight
    • OPINION
  • OBITUARIES
  • SPORTS
  • Photo Gallery
  • Classifieds & Public Notices
  • Church Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • HOME
Search
Friday, May 27, 2022
The Baldwyn News
  • NEWS
    • EDUCATION
    • Business
    • Government
    • CRIME
    • Chamber Spotlight
    • OPINION
  • OBITUARIES
  • SPORTS
  • Photo Gallery
  • Classifieds & Public Notices
  • Church Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • HOME
Home News Hwy. 45/Southwest Ave. accident leaves Booneville man dead
  • News

Hwy. 45/Southwest Ave. accident leaves Booneville man dead

By
Demi Roberts
-
December 17, 2015
0
869
Share
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
ReddIt

    It is the second fatal accident in four months at the intersection; MDOT says it will soon install traffic lights on Hwy. 45 at the Southwest Ave. and Pratts Road intersections.

    A Monday morning accident at the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 45 and Southwest Avenue in Baldwyn has left a Booneville man dead.

    The intersection of Southwest Avenue (County Road 2878) and U.S. Hwy. 45 bears the grim evidence of Monday’s deadly accident. It was the second fatal accident in four months at this intersection, which has become one of the more dangerous in Northeast Mississippi. Yes, this is a stark and brutal photograph and we do not take its publishing lightly. Scenes like this need to end, and The Baldwyn News is calling on MDOT to stop the delays and get traffic lights in the ground sooner rather than later. (News Photo/Jason Collum)
    The intersection of Southwest Avenue (County Road 2878) and U.S. Hwy. 45 bears the grim evidence of Monday’s deadly accident. It was the second fatal accident in four months at this intersection, which has become one of the more dangerous in Northeast Mississippi. Yes, this is a stark and brutal photograph and we do not take its publishing lightly. Scenes like this need to end, and The Baldwyn News is calling on MDOT to stop the delays and get traffic lights in the ground sooner rather than later. (News Photo/Jason Collum)

    Kim Caver, 58, was pronounced dead on the scene after a traffic accident at the intersection near the Git-N-Go gas station and convenience store. Southwest Avenue is also known as Lee County Road 2878.

    On Monday around 11 a.m., Baldwyn Police Department officers responded to the call. They discovered a silver Honda Accord with a female adult driver had a collision with Caver, who was driving a motorcycle. Authorities said Caver was traveling southbound on Hwy. 45, while the female driver was traveling west on Southwest Avenue.

    The accident remains under investigation. According to Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT)

    reports and Baldwyn authorities, 13 accidents at this intersection since 2010 have been reported and resulted in three fatalities – one in December 2012 and two this year. The reports also note that the roads were dry with no inclement weather during all 13 of the accidents. Ten of the accidents were in mid-daylight while only one was at night and one at dusk.

    The dangers of the intersection have long been discussed around town and at city board meetings, even as recently as this fall.

    “This a very busy intersection especially in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening when people are getting off work from the factories,” resident Rita Bell said to the Baldwyn Board of Aldermen during a fall monthly business meeting. “My granddaughter was involved in one of those accidents, and one more accident is too many and too late to do something about it.”

    Bell, along with hundreds of others who have signed a petition to the MDOT, has been seeking a traffic light at this intersection for some time. It looks like they may finally get their wish.

    “After the recent Safety Project Study of the Harry A. Martin Industrial Park trafficked areas, there is a design project underway that we are working on as quickly as possible,” MDOT District Engineer Mark Holly told The Baldwyn News on Wednesday morning. However, he could not provide a timeline for the project.

    According to Holly, the project will include:

    • A red light installment functional 24/7 at the intersection of Highway 45 ByPass and Southwest Street
    • A red light installment functional 24/7 at the intersection of Highway 45 ByPass and Pratts Road
    • A directional median road way out of Fashion Way Drive (at Hancock Fabrics) which prevents left turns (turning north bound from west side of Highway 45); traffic will be directed south bound with the road way from Fashion Way Drive.

    This can’t come fast enough for Bell and others.

    “Cars are coming and going and taking chances and are in a rush, and you can’t always see clearly from all directions with sunrise and sunset,” Bell said.

    Russ Vickers, minister of Hillcrest Church of Christ in Baldwyn, has also taken note of the need for improvements to safety in the corridor.

    “All we want is safety for those travelling in our area,” Vickers said. “I am especially concerned about our teenage children who are driving in this area. My son will get his license early next year and we have talked over and over again about what to do at intersections like this. He fully understands, but we still have concerns about this particular intersection.

    All I want is for him, and others in our community, is to be able to drive in a safe environment. This isn’t it; something needs to be done.”

    • TAGS
    • Accident
    • Hwy 45
    • Traffic
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    WhatsApp
    ReddIt
      Previous articleAnatomy of a Rebirth: The Revival of Downtown Baldwyn, Mississippi
      Next articleYouth’s teacakes help raise funds for toys
      Demi Roberts

      RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

      News

      Two injured in Hwy. 45 collision

      News

      Hwy. 45 traffic lights now active; reaction mostly positive

      News

      Hwy. 45 safety upgrades to begin soon

      HERITAGE

      News

      At Tom’s Drug Store, coffee drinkers ‘Round Table’ solve problems

      News

      Cunningham’s, longtime fixture here, changes hands

      Opinion

      Spinning Wheels by Bernard Coggins

      Opinion

      Spinning Wheels

      MOST POPULAR

      It’s official: Pizza Factory to reopen Monday, May 14

      May 9, 2018

      Colonel Clayton Took Charge

      September 13, 2018

      The Joys of Motherhood

      May 7, 2015

      Glovers chosen as 2018 Baldwyn Christmas Parade Grand Marshals

      November 22, 2018
      Load more

      EDITOR PICKS

      Baldwyn man, out on bond for a drug arrest, faces new...

      March 28, 2022

      Work begins to widen stretch of Hwy. 145 in Saltillo

      March 23, 2022

      Latimer Park trailer to become new police substation

      March 3, 2022

      POPULAR POSTS

      Prentiss authorities probe attack in Wheeler; two remain hospitalized

      June 4, 2020

      Storms leave major tree, property damage in Baldwyn, but no deaths...

      January 11, 2020

      Prentiss County Electric to offer broadband service

      August 14, 2019

      POPULAR CATEGORY

      • News205
      • Obituaries36
      • Sports34
      • Education28
      • Opinion24
      • Crime23
      • Features21
      • Government20
      • Business14
      ABOUT US
      The Baldwyn News is a multi-award-winning newspaper covering the north Lee County and south Prentiss County areas of Northeast Mississippi. The Baldwyn News was ranked third in General Excellence in 2017 and 2019 in the Mississippi Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest.
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy
      • Advertisement
      • Contact Us
      © Copyright The Baldwyn News. All Rights Reserved. Site developed and maintained by Jason Collum and Associates, LLC.
      error: Content is protected !!
      MORE STORIES

      Baldwyn Schools to resume child food services, distance learning

      April 23, 2020

      One injured in shooting on NEMCC campus

      August 26, 2016