One person killed after car crashes into disabled tractor-trailer in Smith County.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) reported on Wednesday that icy roads had claimed their first life during the state's ice emergency.

In Smith County one person is dead after a vehicle slams into the back of an 18-wheeler which was stalled on the road. The passenger in the vehicle died, MEMA officials report.

Emergency officials report this is the only fatality they've had word of so far despite responding to more than 600 accidents in the last 48 hours.

The freezing weather is not expected improve overnight. Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials are saying their rule of thumb is 'If you're south of I-20 the road's probably iced over.'

Black ice stalled drivers on I-55 southbound during the day. Slowed motorists included hoards of truckers headed to New Orleans.

"Been nice if we had a little bit of salt or something that we could put down. A lot of the drivers don't know how to take it so it makes it even slower," Rene Bankston, a truck driver, said.

Jason Scott with MDOT public affairs said that road treatments include spraying salt and laying down slag for sandy traction.

All crews from Southern MDOT districts 3, 5, 6, and 7 have been working since the ice event started, Scott said.

Now Northern districts are stepping in to help relieve the stress from long hours on the roads, Scott said.

"Our strategy for tonight really isn't going to change. Our crews are going to continue to monitor roadways and bridges. We're going to continue to put out materials to make roads as safe as possible," Scott said.

"Manpower is always an issue when you're dealing with something you have to maintain 24/7," Scott said.

"We prepare for stuff like this in Northern Mississippi. The only difference is we have to prepare for it in the Southern part of the state. so that's been really the only difference. We handled an ice storm here before Christmas in the Northern part of the state. So it was really just flip-flopping from the North to the South," Scott said.

But the recommendation - even still in Hinds County - remains that everyone stay off the road unless it's an emergency, Scott said.

"So road conditions are going to remain the same. There's still going to be ice all over especially on elevated bridges," Scott said.

MEMA officials are predicting the freeze to end by late morning on Thursday.