Driver of SUV cited for DUI after crash in Foxworth
A wreck between an SUV and a four wheeler Wednesday in Foxworth has left a 23-year-old man and his 6-year-old son hospitalized with critical injuries.
The accident happened at the intersection of New Hope-Kokomo Road and Shiloh-Firetower Road just before 2:45 p.m. Students from West Marion schools were on a bus traveling home and witnessed the accident.
Capt. Pete Williams of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said the bus was traveling north on New Hope-Kokomo Road, and Tommy Nolan, 30, of Foxworth was traveling in the opposite direction of the bus in a Toyota 4Runner. Randy Merritt of Foxworth was driving the all-terrain vehicle east on Shiloh-Firetower Road with his son, Bradley Merritt, a kindergarten student at West Marion Primary, as a passenger, according to Williams.
The SUV and ATV collided in the intersection, sending the 4Runner off the road into a grassy area next to the wood line north of Shiloh-Firetower Road. Both occupants were thrown from the ATV.
Nolan suffered minor injuries and was cited with a DUI - Other, according to Williams. Williams said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending.
Two helicopters landed on Shiloh-Firetower Road near 3:20 p.m. and airlifted Randy Merritt to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg and his son to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Kayla Fortenberry, Randy Merritt’s fiancée and the mother of Bradley Merritt, posted on Facebook requesting prayers.
She said Bradley Merritt, the 6-year-old, suffered fractures to his skull and face and had some damage to the frontal lobe of his brain. She said Thursday afternoon he was breathing well but remains sedated and faces future surgeries.
Fortenberry also posted that Randy Merritt remained in a medically induced coma and was being weaned from oxygen. He suffered a broken nose, ribs and scapula and some brain injuries, she said.
“The next few days will be the worst so DO NOT STOP PRAYING FOR THEM PLEASE!” Fortenberry ended her post.
Pictured Above: First responders work Wednesday at New Hope-Kokomo Road and Shiloh-Firetower Road where an SUV, seen at left, hit a four wheeler. The driver of the four wheeler and his son are both hospitalized with serious injuries. | Photo by Susan Amundson
