Hattiesburg police said one person died Saturday afternoon after a vehicle rear-ended another on U.S. Highway 49. The Hattiesburg Police Department responded at approximately 1:27 p.m. on July 25, 2026, to the 6900 block of U.S. Highway 49, where the crash occurred.
Authorities said the rear-end collision happened as traffic slowed for a separate crash in the area. The driver of the vehicle that was rear-ended was pronounced dead at the scene, and no other injuries were reported, police said.
U.S. Highway 49 is a major north-south route through Mississippi and serves as a primary corridor through Hattiesburg, carrying local and regional traffic. Crashes on busy stretches of the highway can quickly lead to secondary collisions and traffic disruptions, officials have said in past incidents.
The crash remains under investigation by the Hattiesburg Police Department. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
Jon Ross Myers founded Mississippi News Group in 2013. Before founding the organization, he worked at The Daily Mississippian, The Marion Salute and The Southern Sentinel. A Mississippi journalist and writer based in Ripley, he received second place in poetry in the 2025 William Faulkner Literary Competition for "The Garden."
