2 metro Atlanta men die in Mississippi RV wreck

By Associated Press

For the AJC

Authorities say a second metro Atlanta man has died from injuries sustained in the crash in southern Mississippi of a motorhome carrying people from Georgia to New Orleans to attend the national college championship football game.

Forrest County, Miss., Coroner Butch Benedict told the Associated Press that 66-year-old Alfred Holt Jr. of Lithonia, Ga., the driver of the vehicle, died Sunday. On Saturday evening, 47-year-old Darryl Parker of Riverdale, Ga., died in the wreck.

Benedict said the wreck happened Saturday afternoon on a busy interstate in south Mississippi. He said Parker's wife was among at least 10 people injured in the crash, but her name and condition wasn't immediately available.

Authorities said the group was traveling in a rented recreational vehicle from the Atlanta area to New Orleans, where they planned to attend the Bowl Championship Series national title game between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama. The game will be played Monday.

There were 13 passengers on board the motorhome, and Holt, the driver.

Benedict said some of the others hurt in the crash had serious injuries.

Three people involved in the accident remained in intensive care Sunday, said Pauline McGee, nursing supervisor at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Miss.

She said two of the patients in ICU are stable and one is in "extremely critical condition."

Three others are in regular hospital rooms in stable condition, McGee said, and several others were treated and released.

Mississippi Highway Patrol Cpl. Todd Miller said the motorhome blew a front tire, ran off Interstate 59 in Forrest County, Miss., and hit a tree in the median. He said two people were ejected from the motorhome. Benedict said he's not sure if Parker was one of them.

Officials said some interstate lanes were blocked as the injured were transported by ground and air to local hospitals.