********NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ON CRASH #12133***************

Crash mars holiday driving Man killed in collision near Waynesboro first Miss. highway fatality of Thanksgiving period

A Gilbertown, Ala., man became the first Mississippi highway fatality of the Thanksgiving period when he died Saturday in a head-on collision. Wayne Edward Geatches, 35, was eastbound in a 1998 Ford Explorer about 3:40 a.m. about six miles east of Waynesboro on U.S. 84. He collided with a westbound 2005 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Donald Singleton, 25, of Waynesboro, said Staff Sgt. Tommy Coleman of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol. The collision happened in the eastbound lane, Coleman said. The crash is still under investigation. No tickets have been issued. Both men were wearing seat belts, Coleman said. Wayne County Coroner David Pugh said Geatches appeared to have died instantly and was declared dead at the scene. An autopsy will be conducted. Geatches did body work at Waters International Trucks in Meridian, his younger sister, Tammie Mazingo, 34, said. He was a shy man, a divorced father of a 7-year old son, and an Army veteran of the Gulf War, she said. It is believed Geatches was visiting a friend in Mississippi and headed home when the crash occurred, Mazingo said. Singleton was hospitalized in Hattiesburg. His sister, Ashley Singleton, 19, said his injuries included several fractures and damage to a lung and his spleen. His mother, Naomi Singleton, 54, said her son would need at least three more surgeries following one on Saturday. Neither woman knew why he was out on the road that morning. "I just keep praying to the Lord, hoping he'll pull out of it," Naomi Singleton said. "I thank God that he's spared his life so far." The holiday observance period began at 6 p.m. Wednesday and ends midnight today. Coleman said MHP troopers are writing far more tickets this holiday period than in 2005. About 3,400 citations were written during the five-day period last year, compared to 6,226 citations as of midnight Friday. Many troopers were tied up last year helping local agencies on the Gulf Coast. During the 2005 Thanksgiving period, there were eight deaths on Mississippi roads. "It's really been a pretty safe period so far, and I just hope it stays like that," Coleman said. "You'll notice the fatalities are down because we're back."

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