Lowndes Fire, Accident Claim Lives

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) — A Lowndes County woman dies when she’s trapped in her burning home early this morning.

Coroner Greg Merchant pronounced 46-year-old Gwen Robertson dead at about 5 a.m. after District 2 Volunteer firefighters recovered her from her mobile home on Downs Road near Columbus Air Force Base. She lived alone.
A neighbor reported the fire after hearing a loud noise at about 3 a.m. Flames already were shooting from the front and rear of the trailer.

Investigators still are trying to determine the cause of the fire, but it appears to have started in the kitchen area and spread to the center of the home. She was found near the kitchen.

In an unrelated tragedy, a 90-year-old Columbus woman dies from injuries suffered in a traffic accident Friday afternoon.

Merchant says Pearl Mae Watson died Sunday morning at Baptist Golden Triangle hospital.

According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the accident occurred at the intersection of Highway 45 North and Jess Lyons Road. Around 2 p.m., a blue Buick Century driven by Watson was traveling eastbound on Jess Lyons through a red light and collided with the rear tires of a northbound dump truck on Highway 45. The northbound 2006 red International registered to Hays Gravel was driven by 43-year-old Christopher A. Langford of Sulligent AL.
Mrs. Watson wasn’t restrained. Langford suffered no injuries.

Relatives said she was on her way from the beauty parlor to her home in East Columbus.

The accident remains under investigation by the Mississippi Highway Patrol.