Three people have been airlifted to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson after a head-on collision involving a pickup truck and a garbage truck at the 108 mile marker of I-20 westbound just west of the New Ireland Road bridge.
Newton Police Chief Randy Patrick said the garbage truck involved was not a county-owned garbage truck. The crash occurred around 2:30 p.m. Monday.
"It was an ADSI (Arrow Disposal Service, Inc.) garbage truck and a pickup truck involved," Patrick said. "One vehicle traveling eastbound crossed the median and crashed with the other vechicle. It was a head-on collision."
Two choppers from PHI Air Medical and one from UMMC's AirCare landed on the interstate and transported the victims to the hospital. Patrick said he could not release the names of the victims or their conditions as of Monday afternoon.
Traffic on I-20 was backed up for miles, and many motorists began exiting the interstate at the Newton exit westbound and diverted onto Hwy. 80 around the crash. It caused bumper-to-bumper conditions in the middle of town. Law enforcement eventually closed the interstate at the exit and imposed a detour around the crash.
As of 4:45 p.m., Patrick said only one lane of I-20 westbound was open.
