By Billy Davis

A 30-year-old motorcycle rider was killed in a head-on collision Wednesday evening south of Batesville, the second motorcycle-related fatality in the county within a week.

Steven “Stevie” Weaver, 30, struck an oncoming pickup on Cotton Plant Road and died on the scene, reported Panola County coroner Gracie Grant-Gulledge.

Arrangements for Weaver were incomplete at press time Thursday. Wells Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The Panola County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the accident, she said.

Weaver’s death follows that of Shedrick Deon Gordon Jr., who died August 29 when he lost control at the intersection of Lee Jennings and Holston Roads in north Panola County.

A funeral service for Gordon is set for Saturday at Abundant Harvest Church of God, located in Charleston, at 11 a.m.

A U.S. Army private first class, he will be laid to rest at Rose Hill Cemetery with full military honors.

Gordon was fleeing a Miss. Highway Patrol trooper when he died, The Southern Reporter, quoting an eyewitness, reported this week.

Gordon was also declared dead at the scene.

Gulledge said Gordon’s body was recovered from a 30-foot, kudzu-covered ravine, where Lee Jennings and Holton roads join at an “offset” intersection.

Sardis firefighters helped state troopers recover the body.

The sheriff’s department investigated the incident – common procedure when another agency is involved in an accident.

A report of the incident was unavailable at press time Thursday.

A spokesman for the Highway Patrol directed inquiries of Gordon’s wreck to the sheriff’s department.

Gordon is survived by his parents, Shedrick Gordon and Pearlie Smith Gordon, and two sisters, Shameka Z. Gordon and Shavetta Gordon.

Cooley’s Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.