A pedestrian was killed this morning on Interstate 20 when he was struck by a pickup near the truck scales west of the Bovina exit, authorities said.

Joseph H. Poindexter, 79, 211 Son Watts Road, Newton, Miss., died from head and chest injuries, said Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey. His body was expected to be sent to the Mississippi Crime Lab in Jackson for an autopsy, Huskey said.

Poindexter is believed to have been walking to get help for his car which had broken down, said Huskey, who pronounced him dead at 7:24.

Cpl. Odis Easterling, spokesman for the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, said a vehicle was found about three-fourths of a mile from the wreck.

The victim was westbound on the highway, Easterling said, when he was hit by a white Ford Ranger. The initial 911 call came in at 6:53 a.m.

Easterling declined to release the name of the driver, a 56-year-old man. No charges had been filed against him this morning, said Easterling.

Huskey said initial reports were that the driver believed he had hit a deer. He stopped, discovered Poindexter and called 911.

Huskey said Poindexter is survived by his wife, Helen, and a daughter, Alma.

Mapps Funeral Home in Forest was to handle funeral arrangements.

The fatal wreck was the first reported in the county outside the city in 2012. One has been reported in Vicksburg.