Man killed on I-22 at Carter Avenue overpass construction site/UPDATED

UPDATED 7:00 PM, 9-1-16: Information from the New Albany Police Department has identified the man killed in an accident at the I-22 construction site on the Carter Avenue overpass (Downtown bridge). Larry Pettigo, 67, of Baldwyn, MS, died after being thrown from the cab of his John Deere 8320R tractor to the concrete pavement. The dual rear tires of Pettigo’s tractor are said to have contacted a concrete traffic barrier and ridden up against the barrier, causing him to lose control.

ORIGINAL POST

New Albany, MS- A man was killed today while driving a large farm tractor on I-22 in New Albany.

At about 12:30 PM today (September 1, 2016), the operator of a large John Deere tractor with a mowing machine attachment was traveling east on I-22, where construction is being done on the Carter Avenue overpass in New Albany.  A motorist who was following the tractor slowed down after noticing that the tractor operator, believed to be a resident of Lee County, was losing control of his vehicle.

The operator of the tractor was thrown off the tractor, landed on the pavement, and died as a result of his injuries. It is believed that he had been working somewhere near New Albany, and was returning to Lee County, traveling east on I-22, when the accident occurred.

At the time of this posting, Lee County officials were in the process of notifying the victim’s next of kin.