MISSISSIPPI: Five people were killed and a sixth was seriously injured after a freight train struck a van at a railroad crossing in Stone County, Mississippi, on Friday afternoon. Authorities said all five of the dead were inside the van, while the surviving passenger, a 23-year-old woman, was flown to a hospital for treatment. No injuries were reported among the crew or others aboard the train. The crash happened near Wiggins, a town about 45 miles northwest of Biloxi, and remained under investigation on Saturday.
The collision occurred around 1 p.m. on March 27 at the Pump Branch Road crossing just off Highway 49 in northern Stone County. Sheriff Todd Stewart said the van was traveling westbound toward Highway 49 when it was hit by a northbound Canadian Pacific Kansas City freight train. Local authorities said the impact pushed the vehicle roughly 500 yards down the track. Emergency crews responded from multiple agencies, and traffic in the area was disrupted for several hours as investigators worked at the scene.
Stone County Coroner Wayne Flurry identified the five victims as Ryan C. Peterson, 26, Kristina Carver, 45, Emley Chamblee, 22, Sarabeth Chamblee, 20, and Demarcus Perkins, 23. Flurry said Peterson was the driver. Carver’s two daughters, Emley and Sarabeth Chamblee, were also among the dead. Authorities said the lone survivor was transported by helicopter to a hospital in New Orleans. Officials did not immediately release an updated condition for the injured passenger.
Victims Identified In Stone County Crash
The railroad company said the crash involved one of its freight trains at a crossing and confirmed that no train crew members were hurt. The Stone County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation into the collision, with other agencies assisting at the site. Authorities have not said what led the van into the path of the train, and no additional details about the sequence of events were released by late Saturday. The crash drew wide attention across Mississippi’s Gulf Coast region because of the number of fatalities.
The deaths included members of the same family and a young corrections officer, adding to the toll on communities across the state’s southern counties. Peterson worked for the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, according to local officials. Stewart said the Pump Branch Road crossing has been the site of multiple fatal incidents, including another deadly crash in 2023, underscoring renewed concern about safety at the rural crossing. By Saturday, officials had released the names of all five victims but said the broader investigation was still ongoing.
Crossing Safety Questions Intensify
County officials said the Pump Branch Road crossing does not have crossing arms or warning lights, a detail that came under renewed scrutiny after Friday’s crash. Northbound lanes near the scene were temporarily closed during the emergency response and reopened later in the afternoon. The crossing sits in a lightly populated area north of Wiggins, where rail lines and secondary roads intersect in wooded terrain. Authorities said the location remained part of the active review into how the collision unfolded.
As of Saturday, the confirmed toll stood at five dead and one injured, with no reported injuries among train personnel. Officials had not released further details about the injured passenger’s condition or the cause of the collision. The sheriff’s office said the investigation remained active, while county officials continued reviewing the circumstances surrounding the crash at Pump Branch Road. For families in Stone County and along the Gulf Coast, the identification of the victims marked the first full accounting of a crash that unfolded within seconds. – By Content Syndication Services.