Pending any unfiled preliminary accident reports from New Year’s Eve, Arkansas roadway fatalities topped out at 543 with accidents claiming the lives of men from Marshall. Grady and West Memphis in the final three calendar days of the year.
The 543 fatalities are the most on Arkansas highways and roadways since 2012 when 545 were recorded.
Samuel Lee Hegwood of Grady died as the result of an December 29 accident when his pickup ran off the road and struck a church building out of the outskirts of Grady in Lincoln County.
According to the Arkansas State Police, the fatal crash occurred around 3:00 p.m. near the town of Grady.
The Arkansas State preliminary accident report states that 58-year-old Hegwood was driving a Ford F-150 northbound on AR-11. For reasons that have yet to be determined, his vehicle lost control and veered off of the highway.
Before Hegwood could stop the vehicle, the pickup collided into a church building off the highway.
Hegwood was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Authorities have not yet indicated what factors might have contributed to the incident.
An 82-year-old man was killed in a two-vehicle collision Wednesday afternoon in Boone County, according to the Arkansas State Police.
Authorities say the crash happened around 2:40 p.m. when Robert Stewart of Marshall was attempting to make a left turn onto U.S. 65 at U.S. 62 outside Harrison.
Stewart failed to yield to an oncoming vehicle that was northbound on U.S. 65 in the inside lane, causing the northbound vehicle to strike Stewart’s vehicle, according to a preliminary report.
Stewart died of injuries sustained from the collision, authorities said. Also injured were a passenger in Stewart’s vehicle, 52-year-old Angela Perez of Marshall, and the driver of the northbound vehicle, 61-year-old Terry Wheeler of Western Grove.
A 79-year-old Arkansas man was fatally struck by an SUV Saturday in West Memphis, authorities said.
George Thomas of West Memphis was in the eastbound lanes of traffic of West Broadway Street shortly after 6:15 p.m. when he was hit by a GMC Yukon, according to an Arkansas State Police report.
Thomas died from his injuries. The driver of the Yukon wasn’t hurt.
Conditions at the time were said to be rainy and wet. The report didn’t indicate why Thomas was in the roadway.
