The body of a Yazoo City woman was discovered along Highway 49 after being struck by a vehicle during the early morning hours last Sunday.
Shea Erica Parker, 39, of Wise Street, died about 5:50 a.m. on Highway 49 near Yazoo County High School.
Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers said the cause of the accidental death was multi-system trauma.
An automobile accident, at first believed to be involving a deer, was called into the local dispatch around 6:50 a.m. Deputies checked the highway from Yazoo City to the Big Black River, not finding anything. However, shortly afterwards, a county volunteer firefighter called 911 to report that the initial report of the accident involving a deer was incorrect, adding that he had located a body on the edge of the roadway.
“The initial investigation revealed that the victim was walking near the center line of northbound Highway 49 when she was struck by a Chevrolet Trailblazer,” Shivers said. “The driver, thinking she had struck a deer, continued to Yazoo City and at McDonald’s spoke to a local volunteer fireman who examined her vehicle and determined that the damage was caused by something other than a deer.”
Shivers said the fireman and the driver then returned to the site of the incident, locating the body.
Terry Gann, chief investigator with the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department, said the investigation has been turned over to the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol.
“It appears that there was a dispute in the car the victim was riding in,” Gann said. “Allegedly, the passengers in the car were returning from Jackson intoxicated during the early morning hours after being at a nightclub at all.”
At some point during the altercation, it is believed that Parker exited the vehicle along the highway.
“It has been said that the passengers tried to get her to return to the vehicle, but that she refused,” Gann said. “Also, there was another car of passengers about an hour behind them. They were asked to pick up the victim on their way back, but they said they never saw her walking.”
Gann said he does not suspect foul play, adding that he believes it was an unfortunate accident.
