State reports six holiday traffic deaths

By Staff
from staff and wire reports
JACKSON Mississippi had at least six highway deaths including a head-on collision that killed two people Sunday during the Christmas holiday period of Wednesday night through midnight Sunday.
No traffic fatalities were reported in Lauderdale County or Meridian.
Through midnight Saturday, the Mississippi Highway Patrol reported it issued 4,350 tickets, made 111 drunken driving arrests and worked 126 accidents including five alcohol-related.
Maj. Ward Calhoun of the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department said his agency made five drunken driving arrests from 6 p.m. Wednesday through midnight Sunday.
Dean Harper, spokesman for the Meridian Police Department, said figures for city drunken driving arrests during the same period were unavailable early today.
The head-on accident occurred when Carlos Brown's vehicle collided with one driven by Roy Charles Kirklon Jr. on Mississippi 448 in Sunflower County at 3:05 a.m. Sunday.
Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said both men were killed.
Other fatal accidents included:
Arthur LaCaze, 46, of Walker, La., apparently lost control of his tanker truck Saturday on U.S. 61 in Wilkinson County, flipping it and spilling 9,000 gallons of aviation fuel, officials said. LaCaze was pronounced dead at the scene, Strain said.
Unity Themba Nkosi, 35, of Stone Mountain, Ga., died Saturday when his car left Interstate 59 north of Heidleburg, Strain said. The cause of the accident is under investigation, Strain said.
Ricky Hatten, 48, of Hattiesburg, died Friday when his car left Mississippi 589 south of Seminary, Strain said. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, he said.
Coahoma County Coroner Scotty Meredith said Randy Kirkwood, 39, of Indianola was thrown from a vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene of the one-vehicle accident.