Whitney Downard / The Meridian StarWorkers with the Mississippi Department of Transporation install a temporary J-turn at the Highway 45 and State Route 145 intersection in Clarke County, the site of a fatal accident last month.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol is searching for a driver who ran through the newly installed J-turn in Clarke County.

Sgt. Andy West, with the Mississippi Highway Patrol Troop H, said a driver ran through the J-turn around 6:30 a.m. Sunday. The driver, traveling north on Highway 45, then abandoned the vehicle.

“We’re still trying to find the driver,” West said. “This is just speculating, but the driver may have been impaired.”

West said the vehicle had been towed and broken plastic poles at the intersection had been replaced.

Workers finished the J-turn, at Highway 45 and State Route 145, Tuesday, following a July 19 fatal accident that killed three people.

Gavin Thomas Toler, 16; Tyla Rhodes Toler, 57; and Robert Earl Toler, 57, died as a result of their injuries after a two-vehicle accident at the intersection. Gavin died at the scene, Tyla that evening and Robert died July 30.

The temporary plastic poles, outlining the J-turn, forces drivers on State Route 145 to turn right, merge with traffic and use a turn around further down the road.

Tom King, the Southern District transporation commissioner, said the temporary J-turn cost between $50,000 and $70,000 on Tuesday. The permanent J-turn, to be installed when funding comes through, will cost around $1 million.