Multiple-vehicle crash near Puckett prompts AirCare dispatch

PUCKETT, Mississippi — A multiple-vehicle crash on Highway 18 near Highway 43 prompted a multi-agency emergency response Friday at about 11:56 a.m., the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department said in a Facebook post.

Deputies, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, medical personnel from Pafford Ambulance Service and multiple volunteer fire departments arrived at the scene and found multiple patients, the department said. Medical crews requested that AirCare be dispatched to transport the critically injured.

Authorities have diverted all traffic from the immediate area, and motorists were asked to use alternate routes to avoid prolonged delays. Highway 18 is a regional thoroughfare that can carry significant commuter and commercial traffic, so closures are likely to affect travel times through Rankin County.

The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi Highway Patrol handle crash investigation and traffic control in the area, while Pafford Ambulance and AirCare provide ground and air medical transport. Volunteer fire departments often assist with scene stabilization and extrication.

The number of injured and the cause of the crash have not been released. We will provide more information as it becomes available.