Deputies resign after fatal weekend wreck

Published 6:27 am Thursday, January 31, 2019

A sheriff’s office in Mississippi says two deputies have resigned since being involved in a weekend wreck that killed two people.

Forrest County Sheriff’s Capt. Phillip Hendricks said Wednesday that deputies Chey Sumrall and Josh Strickland have resigned.

Hendricks tells news outlets that Sumrall on Saturday crashed a patrol car into a vehicle carrying 66-year old Charlie Epting Sr. and 80-year-old Annie Everette.

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Sumrall was on-duty at the time, but wasn’t involved in an emergency. Epting and Everette were pronounced dead at the scene, and Sumrall had minor injuries. It’s unclear how Strickland was involved.

Board of Supervisors attorney David Miller said Monday that the deputies were on administrative leave. Sheriff Billy McGee says their resignations were submitted before results were obtained from their alcohol and drug tests.