Man killed fleeing from police
Published Sunday, April 13
By Jebb Johnson
Staff writer

Officials say an Alcorn County man's flight from Farmington police checkpoint Friday night ended in a deadly one-vehicle crash on Shiloh Road in Corinth.

Tony Wesly Bowden, 27, of 136 CR 430, Rienzi, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred at 9:41 p.m. on Shiloh Road in the area of Fillmore Street. It is the first traffic fatality in the city this year.

A passenger, Amanda Hicks Bowden, 30, of 69 CR 326, was seriously injured in the crash, said Corinth Police Chief David Lancaster. She was taken by air ambulance to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn.

Driving west bound in a 1998 Hyundai, Tony Bowden entered the city on Kendrick Road and continued west on Shiloh Road as he attempted to elude Farmington law enforcement, said Lancaster.

When the driver reached the sharp right curve in the railroad underpass at Shiloh Road and Taylor Street, the vehicle went off the road on the left side.

"When he came back onto the road, he lost control, started into a skid and struck a utility pole on the right side of the road," Lancaster said. "The vehicle snapped the pole and also impacted a tree that was right behind it. The vehicle suffered heavy damage to the driver's side during the collision."

He described it as one of the more violent crashes he has seen in some time.

The fire department used extrication equipment to cut away the top of the vehicle and remove the occupants.

After Corinth police were notified of the vehicle entering the city, Lancaster said officers were getting in position to place stop sticks across the street but were not involved in pursuing the vehicle. The Farmington officer told Corinth police that he had lost sight of Bowden's vehicle before the crash occurred.

The Farmington checkpoint was apparently set up at county roads 106 and 114.

Farmington Police Chief Tony Holmes, who was traveling home from Iowa on Saturday, said that would be reviewing the circumstances of the pursuit to ensure that proper procedures were followed.

Corinth police remained at the scene of the crash for about two hours.
Funeral services for Bowden are set for 2 p.m. today at Corinthian Chapel. He was a native of Tippah County and an employee if James Ford Builders.

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