Kirk Sudduth needed some relief for his senses Tuesday morning, and he was willing to take it just about any way he could get it.
“Does someone have a dead cat I can smell?” he asked aloud as a Mississippi Department of Transportation worker drove up in a front-end loader prepared to scrape hundreds of processed catfish heads and parts from Highway 45 Alternate. “It might smell better than this.”
Sudduth, superintendent for MDOT’s Lowndes County division, was one of several responders to a catfish spill that shut down — and stunk up — the westbound turning lane from Highway 45 Alternate onto Highway 82 for more than an hour.
The smell was the worst part of the spill for responders — many MDOT workers wore cloth around their faces to try to keep the stench at bay. While waiting on the front-end loader to arrive, Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers discussed with Sudduth whether the catfish scattered across the asphalt smelled more like a corpse or a rotting deer carcass.
Master Sergeant Criss Turnipseed, a spokesperson with Mississippi Highway Patrol, said the catfish fell out of a truck between about 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. at the intersection west of the Lowndes County Industrial Park, commonly known as the Crossroads. Authorities believe the gate on the back of the truck slid open as the truck made the turn. The truck driver, apparently not realizing the catfish had fallen out, kept going.
MDOT removed the fish from the highway, and Lowndes County District 5 Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ollie Bluitt sprayed the flatted remains and fish slime from the roadway. Mississippi Highway Patrol kept the lane closed until the mess was clear.
Steven Jones, one of the troopers on scene, said spills — even catfish spills — happen, but aren’t exactly common.
Sudduth said Lowndes County MDOT responds to maybe one or two catfish spills per year.
“We have to deal with all kinds of road kill and spills, whether it’s corn, soybeans or catfish,” he said. “It’s all just a part of the public safety issue for us.”
Jones, waiting for MDOT’s equipment to arrive, at least saw a silver lining for the situation, as the mid-morning temperatures stayed in the 80s.
“Can you imagine what this would be like in the middle of the day when it’s 90 degrees with 100 percent humidity?” he said.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.