A man fleeing a traffic stop led Mississippi Highway Patrol officers on a chase through Columbus Wednesday night, according to MHP Staff Sgt. Derrick Beckom.
At about 9 p.m. troopers attempted to pull over a 2024 GMC Sierra driven by Tristan Blake Atkinson, 22, of Columbus, for speeding on Highway 182 east of Columbus, Beckom said. Atkinson allegedly refused to stop, and troopers gave chase.
While fleeing west on Main Street, Atkinson collided with a 2012 Ford F-150 driven by Ryan Jay Koehn, 26, also of Columbus, Beckom said. Koehn was heading south on Fifth Street when he was hit.
Koehn was airlifted from the Roger Short Soccer Complex and flown to the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.
Atkinson was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle with non-life-threatening injuries and later arrested.
According to jail logs from the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center, Atkinson was charged with driving under the influence-first offense, fleeing or eluding, improper passing, speeding 30 miles an hour over the speed limit, seatbelt violation, reckless driving, driving without headlights, no license tag, two counts of improper passing and five counts of disobeying a traffic control device.
Debris from the wreck was scattered all over the Fifth and Main intersection, and some of it broke the front door glass at Josh Read’s Edward Jones office, located on the southwest corner of the intersection.
“I was enjoying dinner and some dessert at a friend’s house last night when I got the call,” Read said. “I’m just hoping the kid who was airlifted is OK.”
Read said nobody was in the office at the time.
He said he thought the bumper from one of the trucks was responsible for the damage, which also included some minor damage to the brick columns. The business was open Thursday.
Read said he was impressed with the law enforcement response.
“I was very impressed with the troopers on the scene, and the sheriff, police chief and mayor were all there when I pulled up,” he said. “They were first and foremost trying to make sure the people were OK.”
Atkinson was still in custody at the Lowndes County Detention Center as of press time.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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