Rash of road deaths continue in Arkansas, county

Rash of road deaths continue in Arkansas, county

Already more than 60 highway fatalities in state in 2018

ralphhardin@gmail.com The death of a Turrell man and a Mississippi woman within 24 hours of each other in separate crashes earlier this month were the 49th and 50th highway fatalities in the State of Arkansas since the first of year, a number that has continued to climb in the days since.

In all, in 2018, there have already been 61 fatalities on Arkansas roadways, less than two full weeks into March. That averages out to more than a half-dozen per week, including five right here in Crittenden County.

In January, a West Memphis man was killed in a single-car crash on Interstate 55. In the same day, a Memphis man was killed in a two-car crash on U.S.

Highway 64, between Marion and Crawfordsville. In February a pedestrian was struck and killed by a drunk driver.

The body of the missing driver whose car ran off Interstate

55 into Big Creek

has been found.

Two weeks ago, near Turrell, 20-year-old Dequine Crawford drowned after his car drove off I-55 into Big Creek. His car was completely submerged. His body was found the next day.

And while law enforcement officials and search & rescue crews were wrapping up the search for Crawford, just a few miles away, a multi-car pile-up claiming the life of Carla Jean Baker, 57, of Hickory Flats, Mississippi, and injuring three more.

Around 11:20 a.m., on Friday, March 2, near Mile Marker 269, on I-40 in West Memphis., the driver of an 18-wheeler, a 2016 Kenworth tractor-trailer rig, was traveling west on I-40 and failed to notice traffic had slowed to a near standstill due to congestion.

According to Arkansas State Police reports, the big rig struck the rear end of a 2003 Dodge Ram in which Baker was a passenger, which resulted in a chain reaction of collisions that included three other vehicles. The driver of one of the vehicles and two additional

passengers sustained

injuries in the crash.

Reports suggest no discernible pattern to the rash of fatalities. Fatal crashes have occurred at day and night, in wet and dry weather, and both in and out of traffic and construction areas. Traffic fatalities overall have increased in recent years. Arkansas, with three major interstate highways weaving in and out of the state, typically ranks in the top 10 in road fatalities.

Brock Thompson, a driving school owner, offered his insights in a KATV television interview in 2015.

He cited a lack of training and too many distractions as a couple of reasons why Arkansas may be seeing a rise in deadly crashes.

“Five years ago, traffic wasn't what it was now,” Thompson noted at the time. “Five years ago technology wasn't what it is now. You're seeing a huge increase in not only teenagers, but also adults being distracted with cellphone technology, with interfaces of automobiles now they're trying to shift some of the responsibility from the driver to the cars.” Last year, the Arkansas State Legislature passed a new distracted driving law aimed at cracking down on drivers who have one eye on the road and one eye on their cell phones. The law increased distracted driving penalties and outlawed texting or interacting with social media while behind the wheel altogether.

By Ralph Hardin