A head-on collision on Mississippi 35 South between an 18-wheeler and a Honda Accord during heavy rains Monday afternoon caused serious injuries to both drivers.
Connie Boles, 51, of Collins, who was driving the Accord, suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to Forrest General Hospital before being airlifted to another trauma center Monday night. Her condition as of press deadline Tuesday was unknown.
The driver of the 18-wheeler, Daniel Fleener, 69, of Clayton, La., was also transported to Forrest General with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Boles was traveling northbound toward Columbia when she attempted to pass Taurin Robinson of New Hope and another 18-wheeler. When she attempted to pass the truck, she collided with Fleener, who was traveling south.
Robinson said Boles was following close behind him since the Louisiana state line and was driving far too fast for the stormy conditions.
“(Boles) was behind me for a while riding my bumper, and I’m not going to speed up,” he said. “I’ll usually slow down in bad weather. She got past me, tucked in and I thought there was nothing she could do because there was an 18-wheeler in front of her. But she got back out on this side (in the southbound lane) and started passing that 18-wheeler and before you know it, the other 18-wheeler came up and there was nothing she could do. There was nowhere she could go and hit it head on.”
Robinson added that the collision was so bad that it looked like something out of a movie. “It just didn’t make any sense why she would do that. We were all driving slow; we could barely see in front of each other. She was going like it was a sunny day,” he said.
Robinson added it took first responders about 10 minutes to remove her from the car with the Jaws of Life. Other witnesses said Fleener suffered injuries to his head, shoulder and leg but remained conscious.
The accident remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol.
Pictured Above: A car driven by Connie Boles of Collins was damaged beyond recognition from a head-on collision on Mississippi 35 South Monday afternoon. Boles was moved to a trauma center, and her condition was unknown as of deadline. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
