News Briefs From Across The State
By Monica Land
Victim was seriously injured
Long Beach police said an 18-year-old woman was seriously injured after jumping out of a moving car on Highway 90 Tuesday, Aug. 13, around 6:30 p.m.
According to Long Beach Police Chief Wayne McDowell, the victim told police she did it because the driver 22-year-old Chasity Murphy of Gulfport was driving too fast and she was afraid.
Police learned of the incident after a witness told police a vehicle opened and a woman fell out on Highway 90 and Lange Avenue in Long Beach. The driver reportedly continued driving west bound on Highway 90 without stopping, McDowell added.
McDowell said the passenger and the driver were in a 2005 blue Nissan, four-door sedan. The passenger had serious injuries and was transported to Memorial Hospital in Gulfport for treatment. She reportedly suffered a facial fracture, bruising and cuts all throughout her body.
Murphy was arrested and charged with misdemeanor charges of: DUI other substance, simple possession of marijuana, and leaving the scene of an accident with bodily injury. Murphy's charges may be upgraded to a felony depending on the extent of the woman's injuries, McDowell said.
Her bond was set at $2,677.
Belden man killed in Tuesday accident
One man was killed in a Union County when his car hit the rear of an 18-wheeler on Aug. 13. Highway Patrol Trooper Ray Hall told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that 37-year-old Gualterio Bradley, of Belden, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
Hall said Bradley appears to have been traveling west on Highway 78 when he apparently collided into the rear of a Volvo semitrailer operated by 47-year-old Tan Alexandria, of San Gabriel, Calif.
Alexandria was not injured.
Hall said the crash remains under investigation.
Kmart's claims against Corinth dismissed
A federal judge has dismissed Kmart's claims against the city of Corinth over flood damage to one of the chain's stores in 2010.
U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled that the city is entitled to immunity from Kmart's lawsuit under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, according to WTVA-TV.
Kmart's lawsuit alleges that a neighboring Kroger grocery store was built in a floodway and altered the flow of water from standing water to a rushing, forceful flow of water at the Kmart store. The grocery store should have been torn down but in 2005 was allowed to remain in the floodway after a letter of map revision was issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Kmart argues.
Kmart is seeking compensation for flood damage at the Fulton Crossing location, the store's closure for about 10 months, and flood prevention efforts in April 2011, when the store was also threatened by flood waters.
Kroger remains a defendant in the suit.
Drug arrests reported in Monroe County
Sheriff's deputies in Monroe County say they have made arrests in two separate drug cases. WTVA reports 30-year-old James Scott Knight of Amory was arrested late last month. Knight was booked with possession of a controlled substance in a correctional facility.
In a separate case, 38-year-old Chrissy Lynn Willis of Hamilton was arrested on Aug. 2. Investigators say Willis was booked on a warrant for sale of a controlled substance. Knight was taken to the Rankin County jail while Willis was taken to the Monroe County jail.
