Child, teen, three adults killed in Arkansas 7 wreck

Emergency personnel work the scene of a multiple-fatality accident on Arkansas 7 south of Hot Springs on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012.

Emergency personnel work the scene of a multiple-fatality accident on Arkansas 7 south of Hot Springs on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012.

Friday, November 16, 2012

— A 2-year-old, a 16-year-old and three adults were killed in a three-car collision in Hot Spring County on Thursday night, authorities said Friday.

The wreck happened shortly after 7 p.m. on Arkansas 7 South about 7 1/2 miles north of Bismarck, Arkansas State Police dispatchers said.

According to a preliminary Arkansas State Police report, a northbound Chevy Trailblazer crossed into the southbound lanes and struck a Chevy truck head-on. A southbound Chevy Malibu then struck the rear of the truck.

Four people in the truck were killed: driver Edgar Rocha Martinez, 41, and passengers Chris Anthony Rocha, 2, Jose Miguel Hernandez, 16, and Eva Figueroa Hernandez, 40. All four accident victims lived at the same Bismarck address.

The driver of the Trailblazer, identified as 37-year-old Brandy Kizziar, also of Bismarck, was also killed, police said.

Two others suffered unspecified injuries: A 5-year-old girl in truck and the driver of the Malibu, identified as Glenda McLemore, 54, of Bismarck. They were transported to a Hot Springs hospital.

Hot Spring County Coroner Ernie Cox said investigators are still looking at the cause of the wreck, but high speed may be a factor.

"It appeared to be," he said. "But don't know. Still trying to figure out what happened."

State police and the Hot Spring County sheriff's office responded to the wreck, which shut down Arkansas 7 for hours. The sheriff's office referred questions to state police. A dispatcher said he had no information on how the wreck occurred.

Cox, speaking by phone from his office about 6:30 a.m., said responders worked long hours to clear the scene and investigate.

"It was all night," he said. "We just got in an hour or two ago."

Authorities initially described the victims as four adults and a 2-year-old child before the names and exact ages were released later Friday.