A Lawrence County man was killed Saturday morning when his vehicle crashed on Hwy. 27 in the early morning hours.

At approximately 3:49 a.m., Mississippi Highway Patrol Troop M responded to call of a one-vehicle wreck. Upon arrival, troopers learned that a 2002 Ford F-150 was traveling north on Hwy. 27 near Reid Givens Road when it traveled across the southbound lane and off the west shoulder of the highway, colliding with a tree.  The collision killed the driver, Charles McCoskey of Monticello.

MHP began its enforcement period for the Labor Day holiday weekend on Friday at 12:01 a.m. and ended it Monday at midnight. During this period, MHP issued 9,426 citations across the state.

This included 184 DUI arrests, 519 seatbelt citations and 110 child restraint citations. More than 120 motor vehicle crashes were investigated, and these included 47 injuries and seven fatalities.

“We are disappointed in the increase of fatalities during this Labor Day period compared to the 2019 period,” MHP Director Col. Randy Ginn said. “These statistics reminds us that we have to continue to educate the public on how speeding, not wearing seatbelts, and impaired and distracted driving play a huge role in traffic fatalities.”

MHP recorded a decrease in traffic crashes for the period compared to last year (131) and attributes this to Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness Reduction Effort) along with the utilization of all available Troopers including the addition of new Troopers from Cadet Class 64.

Troop M saw four collisions during the holiday period and one injury. They investigated 100 hazards and 46 non-hazards. They made two DUI arrests and eight felony arrests.

They issued five citations for not wearing a seatbelt and four citations for lack of child restraint. Troop M responded to one fatality.

There were also fatalities in the following counties during the holiday weekend: Alcorn, Carroll, Humphreys, Kemper, Marshall and Perry.