By Rita Howell

A Batesville woman was killed in a one-vehicle wreck on Interstate 55 on September 6.

The accident occurred Sunday afternoon in the southbound lane just north of the Tate-Panola County line.

Jessica L. Taylor, 19, of 3597 Central Academy Road, died when the 2006 Chevrolet she was driving went off the left the side of the road and struck an embankment, according to Sgt. Leslie White with the Mississippi State Highway Patrol.

Her passenger, Ronnie A. Fortune, 20, of Falkner, was injured, White said.

Taylor was a gymnastics instructor. Funeral services were held Thursday at Forest Hill Funeral Home East in Memphis.

Across the state there were nine traffic fatalities during the Labor Day weekend, White said.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol had conducted an enforcement crackdown during the holiday weekend, with troopers issuing 9,755 citations statewide from Friday night through Monday night.

In Troop E, headquartered in Batesville, White said troopers issued 29 DUI citations out of a total of 796 tickets in the 10-county district.