Jerrell Robinson, a former Hernando High football player, was killed in a freak accident Monday afternoon when six steel reinforced concrete beams fell, crushing his car as he traveled under the Miss. 304 overpass under construction over U.S. 51.
The 20-year-old Horn Lake resident, who graduated from the high school in 2001, was alone in the car, a candy-apple red Saturn, and on his way to work at Domino's Pizza in Hernando about 3:20 p.m. when the accident occurred.
"He was a model kid from a great family," Hernando High football coach Anthony Jenkins said Monday evening while leaving football practice.
"This is devastating. I can't believe it. He was recently married, had a good job and was trying to make something of himself. This is just awful."
Chris Sumner, director of operations for Domino's Pizza, said Robinson and his wife both worked for the company's Hernando store on McIngvale.
"They're both great employees. I don't want to say any more right now. This is a pretty emotional situation."
While Sumner talked to a reporter, Mrs. Robinson sat outside the business in a folding chair as friends and relatives tried to console her.
Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials had no estimate Monday night on how much the beams weighed, but the car was crushed immediately.
DeSoto County Coroner Jeffery Pounders said Robinson was killed instantly.
The accident, which occurred just north of the Green T Road and U.S. 51 intersection, was apparently caused by a Caterpillar trackhoe that moved under the beams, according to Dist. Atty. John Champion, who was on the scene.
"It hit it and it fell," he said.
However, Hernando Police Department, which is investigating the accident, did not have a comment on what caused the accident.
"We're still looking into that at this point," Chief Mike Riley said. "We'll probably have something tomorrow (Tuesday).
Riley said his investigators had spoken to a witness who was in the car behind Robinson when the accident occurred.
The beams were resting on top of two columns on each side of U.S. 51. The beams were unsecured at this stage of construction. There are three other sections north of the fallen section that were secured. But crews had not yet gotten to the last set of beams.
The beams have been up for weeks and no work was being done on them when the accident occurred, according to MDOT's Danny Walker.
U.S. 51 was open to through traffic at the time of the accident, which is a common procedure in projects like this, Walker said.
Shelbyville, Tenn.-based Harper Construction is the prime contractor on the project that is creating a new off and on ramp to Interstate 55.
The road will eventually become part of Interstate 69, the Canada-to-Mexico superhighway that has been planned to pass through the Mid-South and Memphis.
The trackhoe believed to cause the accident is owned by Ronald S. Terry Construction Co. Inc. of Memphis.
The Terry firm has been a major construction firm in the Mid-South with jobs ranging from road construction to airport runway projects.
Ronald Terry was not available for comment Monday evening.
No details were available on the work that was going on Monday when the accident occurred. Work will probably cease for the next few days while the company investigates, according to both Riley and Walker.
The process of cleaning up the road was long and arduous. Firefighters sprayed down the accident site with foam after the body was removed to prevent an explosion from the car's gasoline.
The beams, which were about 50 feet long, had to be cut in half and were moved to the roadside. A wrecker removed the car.
Traffic resumed on U.S. 51 shortly before 8 p.m.
In addition to county and Hernando officers who were diverting traffic off of U.S. 51, Riley said officers were needed to keep traffic flowing off of I-55 at the Hernando exit.
No funeral information was available for Robinson Monday night.
