A former Vicksburg resident who worked as a youth counselor in Carthage died Tuesday in a car wreck on a highway near the town in central Mississippi.

Tiffany Martin McLain, 39, identified by Leake County authorities as Tiffany Parker, was pronounced dead at 1:41 p.m. Tuesday at University Medical Center in Jackson, Leake County Coroner Randolph Scott said.

McLain, who was born in Vicksburg and had lived in Jackson, was traveling around 9 a.m. north on Mississippi 25 three miles south of Carthage when her 2007 Honda Accord collided with a tractor-trailer that was traveling in the same direction, Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Sgt. Malachi Sanders said.

He said the cause of the wreck was undetermined.

McLain was the Leake County Youth Court Administrator, and it was believed she was traveling to Carthage for work.

“She dedicated her career to helping kids get off drugs and alcohol,” her husband, Bill McLain, said. “She spent her life helping people.”

Tiffany McLain graduated from Clinton High School and went to Mississippi State University, where she received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in counseling.

She had worked for Leake County for one year.

In addition to her husband, McLain is survived by her parents, T. and Carolyn Martin of Ponchatoula, La.; two sisters, Shelly Gilbrech of Slidell, La., and Margaret Olander of Madison; and her maternal grandmother, Wanna W. Seay of Vicksburg.

Riles Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com