A Laurel mother of four was killed in a crash that injured a total of 10 people — including her children and six others — on Highway 84 East at Jeff Byrd Road on Wednesday afternoon.
Cecilia Turner, 33, was identified as the driver of a 2008 Infiniti G35 that was traveling west toward Laurel on the highway when a 2008 Toyota Tacoma driven by Aric Armstrong, 27, of Diamondhead tried to cross in front of her from Holifield Road, according to the report from the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
The victim’s name appears as Cece McDonald on her Facebook page, where she describes herself as “a loving mother of 4” and “a loving wife to Todd McDonald.”
“I’ll never get to see her smile at me again,” he posted, adding that he was trying to “stay strong for my kids.” He asked for prayers for their toddler, who was reportedly in critical condition.
Ty’Liyah McDonald, 2, was not restrained and suffered severe injuries in the crash, MHP reported. Her mother, who died as a result of her injuries, was the only person in the car with a seatbelt on, according to the report.
There were nine passengers in the midsized sedan, all of whom were unrestrained, and eight suffered minor to moderate injuries, according to reports. MHP lists them as:
• Mitchell McDonald, 17
• Teunna Adams, 15
• Zacharia Ramsey, 14
• Cekia McDonald, 12
• Ceyonce Newell, 12
• Aryanna McDonald, 11
• Tajari McDonald, 8
• Alexia McDonald, 6
• Ty’Liyah McDonald, 2
Zack, Cekia, Taraji and Ty’Liyah are the children of the deceased driver, a West Jones graduate who was working at Hardee’s and has worked at Ellisville State School and Morgan Brothers in the past.
Cekia posted a tribute to her mom, writing in part that she will “forever remember your smile & voice,” adding that she was hurting, “but I got (to) be strong for my sisters & brother. I love you my queen.”
Isabella Yarbrough, 14, also received what were described as minor injuries. She was a passenger in the pickup with Armstrong and another adult. All of them were wearing seatbelts, according to the report. It was believed that Armstrong lives with his wife in Millry, Ala., but his license still had a Diamondhead address on it. Drivers’ information that is released by MHP comes from their license.
Volunteers from M&M and Powers responded to the mass-casualty incident at 3:35 p.m. and had to extricate the driver of the Infiniti. They also helped provide emergency medical care and traffic control, along with the Jones County Sheriff’s Department. EMServ Ambulance transported most of the patients but a couple may have gone by private vehicle. MHP is investigating the crash.
It was the worst of a rash of crashes that occurred on Wednesday. Three happened around Exit 93 on Interstate 59 in Laurel, with city firefighters and police officers responding to all and the JCSD assisting on two. No details were available but no serious injuries were reported.
Just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, William Toler and his employee/passenger Cole Boyd were injured when the SUV they were in was struck head-on by a Ford F-250 “that was speeding and ran the red light” at Bush Dairy Road as the unidentified driver headed down Highway 15 toward Laurel, Toler said.
The pickup hit a white SUV first, then struck Toler’s, pushing it into another vehicle, Toler said.
Toler and his passenger — who is not the same Cole Boyd who was in the car in the fatal crash later that afternoon — were both extremely sore but counting their blessings after being treated at South Central Regional Medical Center then released.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rbHAnZyrZZOWua16wqikaKaVrMBwstGenJimlazAcLnOrZ%2Beql2ks26AjKSgpaSVmXqquoycqZqrmGLBqa3TZqCnoqWnsqV5kGlkqKZdbYFuscCsq2iZoqm2pLjEmGdvnWdogHF8jHFsnnBdZn6mr4ybnJ5sXWWvdoTCnW2eb2OYsG%2B006aj