Coroner: Alcohol was likely a factor in wreck

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Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt said Monday it “appears alcohol was a factor” in a two-vehicle collision early Friday morning that killed 23-year-old Starkville resident Deseane K. Robinson and injured two others.

Robinson was in the passenger seat of a Pontiac Grand Am that hit a Jeep Wrangler head on and burst into flames at approximately 2 a.m. on the corner of Louisville Street and Boxwood Lane near Starkville High School.

According to a Starkville Police Department press release, the driver of the Pontiac was 25-year-old Jeree Blackwell of 118 Montgomery St. No. 5 in Starkville. Christopher James, 22, of 145 Chapel Lane in Madison, was driving the Jeep. Both drivers were transported to OCH Regional Medical Center and one was transferred to North Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Hunt said both are in stable condition.

First responders arrived at 2:02 a.m. to see the Pontiac on fire.
Starkville firemen tried to extricate Robinson, who was pinned inside the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers found Blackwell just outside the driver’s side door of her car and moved her to protect her from the fire. James was found face down in a ditch full of water and rescued from drowning.

Hunt could not identify which of the parties involved might have had alcohol in their system at the time of the accident.