Local bicyclist air lifted after being hit by vehicle

On Thursday night around 8:15pm, while a Picayune Patrol Division officer was on patrol, the officer came upon an abandoned red Ford Focus in a ditch near the area of Jackson Landing Road and Beech Street according to Picayune Police Department Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Magri.

The patrol officer inspected the scene and found there was a male subject, stuck underneath the vehicle. The male subject was identified as Nathan Bonin, age 63, of 2602 Jackson Landing Road, Picayune, The driver of the vehicle was nowhere to be found at the time. The officer dispatched an ambulance along with Picayune Fire and Rescue personnel to the scene.

Upon arrival, the emergency personnel were able to lift the vehicle and remove Bonin from underneath the vehicle. Bonin was transported to a staging area adjacent to Picayune Memorial High School football stadium where he was transported via emergency life flight helicopter to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg according to Magri.

Upon speaking with witnesses at the scene of the accident, the witnesses told the officers that they had observed a female suspect leave the scene of the accident on foot. At this time, officers began a search of the area trying to locate the female believed to have been driving the vehicle.

A short time later, a female, identified as Jada Loftin, age 20, of Picayune, came to the Criminal Justice Center (CJC) and identified herself as the driver of the vehicle in the accident. Through investigation, it was believed that Loftin was under the influence of a narcotic, at which time she was transported to Highland Community Hospital. Loftin gave consent for a blood sample to be taken.

Jada Loftin

Loftin was then transported back to the CJC where she was booked and incarcerated on felony charges of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Leaving the Scene of an Accident with Injuries.

Magri said that through further investigation of the accident, it is believed the vehicle was headed eastbound on Jackson Landing Road when it struck Bonin while he was riding his bicycle. The vehicle veered into the ditch where it came to rest on Bonin and Loftin then fled the scene.