D.W. Holmes

David Warren Holmes was elected mayor of Hattiesburg in May 1948. He held that office from January 1949 until his death on December 17, 1950, when he was killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver.

Death
On December 17, 1950, Holmes was traveling north on Highway 49 on his way to Arkansas for a hunting trip. At about 6 AM, about six miles north of Collins, a car carrying six men traveling south tried to pass the car in front of them and struck Holmes' car head-on. In addition to Holmes, two of the men in the other car were killed, and another two were hospitalized, and two others were arrested for public drunkenness.