Arkansas roads and byways claimed 12 more victims in the last week, including three from the Inside Fort Smith Smith demographic area.
Men from Van Buren and Russellville and a woman from Booneville lost their lives according to fatal accident reports filed by the Arkansas State Police.
Johnny Carlile, Jr., of Van Buren died on Wednesday as the result of a motorcycle-vehicle crash at the intersection of 40th St. and Ark. Hwy. 162 in Van Buren.
According to the state police, a 2007 Kawasaki driven by Carrlile, Jr., collided with a 2009 Toyota Scion driven by 20-year-old Kevin A. Torres, also of Van Buren.
A 19-year-old driver from Russellville was also killed Wednesday morning when the 2001 Ford Mustang he was driving west on Ark. Hwy. 326 ran off a highway and hit a utility pole.
The single-vehicle wreck happened at 11:29 on Wednesday as the car driven by Ronnie Gage Westbrook left the roadway, left the roadway, hit a mailbox and then a utility pole according to the report.
Westbrook died as the result of facial injuries and a minor passenger was injured.
The third area death on Wednesday occurred when a 39-year old Booneville woman was killed after the vehicle she was riding in hit a tree and overturned on a stretch of Ark. Hwy. 10 west of Booneville.
Misty Perez, a passenger in a 1991 Lincoln driven by 38-year-old Richard Lowrence of Booneville died when the car left the road about 8:20 p.m., struck a tree and overturned. Lowrance was injured in the wreck and transported to Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith.
In other accidents last week:
• Authorities in charge of the investigation have not yet confirmed the name of a 17-year-old that died in a single-vehicle crash that happened in Fayetteville last Suday.
Investigators said that the vehicle drove off the side of MLK Boulevard and crashed into a tree after hitting a curb.
Paramedics rushed to the teen to the hospital where they died from their injuries a short time after their arrival.
• A Jacksonville woman died Tuesday after the car she was riding in went airborne and then rolled several times in Lonoke County.
Crystal Cummings, 31, was a passenger in a 2005 Ford that was traveling east at a high rate of speed in the 4000 block of Arkansas 294 near South Bend.
The Ford drove off the road into a ditch, hit a driveway culvert and went airborne, police said. The vehicle reportedly landed on the passenger side before rolling several times.
The driver and another passenger were also inured. One was transported to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock, and the other was transported to UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock.
• A single vehicle accident on Friday claimed the life of 55-year-old Glenda Ellis of Mavern.
Ellis was driving a 1988 Nissan westbound on U.S. 270 in Malvern when she lost control of the vehicle which left the roadway and struck a house. The Hot Springs County woman died at the scene.
• A Marion man died Wednesday when the car he was in rear-ended a tractor-trailer on Interstate 40 in St. Francis County at around 7: in the morning.
A 2014 tractor-trailer and a 2014 Toyota Camry were heading west on I-40 in Marion when the the tractor-trailer slowed down for an accident.
The Camry rear-ended the 18-wheeler. James Nickerson II, 29, was in the Camry and suffered fatal injuries, according to the report.
• A 68-year old Newport man died as the result of an accident on Stegall Road in Jackson County on Saturday.
Billy Womack was riding his bike along the road when he was struck by a 2008 Cadillac. A 2001 westbound Toyota then ran over Womack as he lay in the roadway.
• A Garland County accident took the life fof 56-year old Donna M. Anderson of Royal on Saturday.
Anderson was driving a 2009 Ford Focus southbound on Ragweed Valley Toad south of Royal when the vehicle left the road, hit a tree and overturned.
Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene by Garland County coroner Jayson Neighbors.
• Three Lake Charles, La., residents died on Saturday following an early morning crash in Miller County on Interstate 49 about two miles north of Fouke.
According to Miller County dispatch, there were four people involved in the crash.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and the other two were flown to the hospital by helicopter.
A Mazda 3 drove underneath the rear axle of an 18-wheeler’s trailer and Aileen O. Jose, 30, and a child were pronounced dead at the scene.
Another child and Moises A. Jose-Perez, 32, were taken to University Health where the child later died.
The twelve deaths in Arkansas last week bring the current total of fatalities for the year to 142, according to the Arkansas State Police website.
Dennis W. McCaslin
Dennis McCaslin has been a longtime news and sports reporter for several media outlets in the Fort Smith area. He has also been a well known radio personality and play-by-play announcer for several years prior to joining InsideFortSmith.Com. He is the voice of the ArklahomaSports High School Game of the Week. E-mail: dennis@greatplainsdigital.com
