Woman Dies In Truck Collision

A West Fork woman died and two others were injured Wednesday after a van collided with a trash truck on Arkansas 170.

Arkansas State Police identified the woman as 54-year-old Wylladean D. Richards.

James R. Ennis, 43, and Regina L. Couch, 35, both of West Fork, were treated and released from Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville.

According to an accident report, Ennis was driving a 2005 Ford trash truck east on Arkansas 170, two miles west of Interstate 540. He stopped to pick up trash about 7:20 a.m.

State police said the truck was straddling part of the eastbound lane and the shoulder.

Ennis was standing at the rear of the truck when police said a 1991 Plymouth van, driven by Couch, approached in the eastbound lane.

Couch didn’t see the truck in time to stop so she swerved to the left to avoid hitting the truck and struck Ennis, according to the report.

The front right side of the van struck the left rear of the trash truck, killing Richards, who was a passenger in the van.

The trooper who investigated the collision was off duty Thursday and unavailable for comment.

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