HANCOCK COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -
A 10 year old girl is dead and a 19 year old woman is fighting for her life after their SUV flipped over Thursday morning on I-10 in Hancock County.
Seven people, members of two families from Arkansas, were traveling to the Alabama Gulf Coast for a beach vacation. Officials say the driver of the SUV told them he dozed off.
The ten hour drive to Orange Beach ended in tragedy just 12 miles inside Mississippi.
“We had a ’94 Toyota 4-Runner traveling east bound,” said Sgt. Johnny Poulos with the Mississippi Highway Patrol. “Vehicle left the roadway, driver lost control of the vehicle, came back onto the roadway rolling over several times, ran off of the right side of the interstate ejecting two passengers.”
Taliyah McGhee, 10, died after she was thrown from the SUV.
“Upon arrival, the sheriff’s department found her in the trees,” said Jeff Myers with the West Hancock Volunteer Fire Dept.
Paige Matthews, 19, was also thrown from the vehicle. Authorities say McGhee and Matthews were both sitting in the cargo are on a seat that had been added.
“There was a make-shift seat in the rear of the vehicle that was not factory equipment. It was placed in
