An Enterprise man has been identified as the pedestrian who was killed trying to cross the interstate early Sunday morning.

Gary J. Gressett, 31, was struck in one of the eastbound lanes at the Interstate 20/59 split just after midnight, said Meridian Police Department spokesman Sgt. Dareall Thompson.

Thompson said the driver and passenger of the Ford F-250 that struck Gressett were not injured, just “shook up,” and as of Sunday night, the collision had been ruled an accident. 

“The driver is not facing any charges…. [Gressett] crossed over the interstate,” Thompson said. “It appears once the driver saw him he tried to stop, but it was too late.”

When paramedics arrived, Gressett was dead on the scene, Thompson said.

This accident occurred just hours after several people were injured in a multi-vehicle collision on Interstate 20 near Key Field in Meridian Saturday evening, but no deaths were reported.

Westbound traffic was rerouted for more than three hours following the wreck, which involved a charter bus, an 18-wheeler and three other vehicles.

The bus was carrying a dance team returning home to Indianola after the team’s first place win in a competition at Meridian Community College, according to a passenger. There were about 40 people on the bus, including the teenagers and their adult chaperones, the passenger said.

A pickup truck and two cars were also involved in the collision, which is under investigation.

At least five people were injured and taken to a local hospital, said Meridian Police Department Sgt. Dareall Thompson. Several others were treated by paramedics at the scene, he said.

In addition to the Meridian Police Department, first responders from The Meridian Fire Department, The Mississippi Highway Patrol, The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office, The City of Meridian Department of Public Safety, The Lauderdale Emergency Management Agency and Metro Ambulance took the call.

— Bill Graham contributed to this report