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SEDGWICK, AR – Authorities are investigating a crash last week that killed a fire chief in Lawrence County, according to KAIT8.

The victim was 61-year-old Wesley E. Adams of Walnut Ridge, the Sedgwick Fire Department Chief. Authorities said he was directing traffic at the scene of a previous crash on U.S. Highway 63 on Dec. 6 when he was struck by a Toyota Corolla at 6:18 p.m.   The Corolla then hit a Ford CL 9000 truck.

Adams was pronounced dead the following day after being rushed to St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. A 78-year-old woman who was in the Ford was injured in the collision.

MARSHALL, AR – A teenage driver was killed when a pickup truck crashed in Searcy County Tuesday evening, reports KTLO.

The accident occurred on State Highway 333 near County Road 37 in Marshall, and was reported at about 9:20 pm.  According to Arkansas State Police, a 16-year-old boy was driving a Dodge Dakota pickup when the vehicle went off the road and collided with a tree along the highway.

The teenager, a student at an area high school, sustained fatal injuries in the wreck.  State police reported the conditions were clear and dry at the time of the crash.

FORREST CITY, AR – A fatal accident that resulted in a chemical spill shut down a portion of Interstate 40 near Forrest City early Tuesday afternoon, reports KAIT8.

The accident happened on I-40 west of the Newcastle Road exit, and was reported shortly after 9 a.m. One person was killed, but no details have been released regarding the victim or the circumstances that led to the wreck.  The incident caused a spill of calcium carbide, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

I-40 was temporarily shut down in both directions while crews responded to clear the scene and clean up the spill. Traffic was being diverted at exit 247.  No evacuations were required.

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR – The Arkansas State Police said a pedestrian died in an accident Saturday night at a highway exit ramp in North Little Rock.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the victim was identified as 47-year-old Biagio Festante of Lecanto, Florida. State troopers said the crash occurred as Festante was attempting to walk across the exit ramp from Interstate 440 east to U.S. 165 at about 5:50 p.m.

The crash report stated that the driver of a Ford Explorer SUV tried to swerve to avoid hitting Festante, but the front-right part of the vehicle ended up striking him.

HOT SPRING COUNTY, AR – A car accident in Hot Spring County last week left a 72-year-old man dead, reports the Sentinel-Record.

The crash, which occurred on Small Dike Road off Highway 7 south in Bismarck, was reported Thursday night at about 8:30 p.m.

According to the Arkansas State Police, 72-year-old Ronald Joe O’Keefe of Hot Springs was driving a Toyota northbound when he veered into the southbound lane.

LITTLE ROCK, AR – A driver died in a crash after his car was struck by a wheel that came off another vehicle Thursday night, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.

The accident happened on Interstate 630 near Chester Street at about 9:45 p.m.  Arkansas State Police said a rear wheel became dislodged from a Dodge Ram that was heading west on I-630.  The wheel went over a barrier and into the east lane, where it hit the front windshield of a Hyundai.

The Hyundai came to a stop in one of the lanes of the highway, where it was then struck from behind by a Chevrolet.  The driver of the Hyundai, 30-year-old Matthew Boswell of Trumann, sustained fatal injuries. No other injuries were reported in the incident.

WHITE COUNTY, AR – Arkansas State Police said a driver died in a single-vehicle crash Thursday on Arkansas 36 in White County, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Investigators said 63-year-old James L. Gaines was driving east in a Chevrolet at about 9:45 a.m. when he drove off the road to the right while trying to negotiate a curve.

Gaines overcorrected and crossed back across both lanes of traffic, then drove off the road to the left. The vehicle overturned, crashed into a tree, and ended up in a roadside ditch.

LITTLE ROCK, AR – Little Rock police have released details of an accident last month that caused the death of a paramedic, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Maj. Dean Douglas was responding to an emergency call during the Little Rock Marathon when the incident took place on Nov. 21.  Douglas, a medic with Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services, was on a bicycle alongside a utility vehicle. According to invesetigators, he was pulled under the vehicle in the area of Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive and South State Street.

Douglas, 50, was severely injured and was pronounced dead Friday at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Police said the utility vehicle was owned by MEMS.

ROGERS, AR – A collision in Benton County Monday night left two people dead and two others injured, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.

The accident occurred at the intersection of Easy Street and 13th Street in Rogers just after 8 p.m.  Police said 35-year-old Rubia Carpio-Batres of Springdale was driving a Honda Civic  on Easy Street when she crashed into a Chevrolet Cruz going north on 13th Street.

Carpio-Batres and a passenger in the Civic, 47-year-old Gaudencia Ramirez of Springdale, both sustained fatal injuries.

PULASKI COUNTY, AR – One driver died and another was hospitalized after their vehicles collided early Monday in Pulaski County, reports the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The accident took place on Interstate 40 west at about 12:12 a.m.  Arkansas State Police said 38-year-old Allison Fausett Summers was driving a Volkswagen Tiguan when she crashed into the back of a Volkswagen Jetta.   The Tiguan overturned and Summers was thrown from the vehicle.  Summers, a resident of North Little Rock, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Jetta driver, a 62-year-old Los Angeles man, was hospitalized at UAMS Medical Center. No details were immediately released on the extent of his injuries.

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