Three Memorial Day vehicle accidents in Arkansas left three men dead, according to Arkansas State Police crash reports.
Blake Bayird, 19, of Monticello was driving a 2005 Chevy truck north on Arkansas 13 in Monticello about 3:45 a.m. when the truck veered off the road, according to a state police report. Bayird overcorrected, his truck slid sideways, and it struck a tree. The truck landed in a ditch, state police said.
Bayird was killed in the accident. His 17-year-old passenger was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, and no word on his condition was immediately available.
On Monday night, Johnson County wreck left a Texas man dead.
Charles M. Jenkins Jr., 71, of Irving, Texas, was driving his 2004 Yamaha motorcycle north on Arkansas 123 when he slowed to make a right turn into a business driveway, lost control and his motorcycle rolled, state police said. It happened just before 10 p.m.
Jenkins was taken to Johnson Regional Medical Center in Clarksville, where he died.
Later Monday, a Texarkana man was killed in a single-vehicle wreck in Miller County.
Charles A. Smith, 32, of Texarkana was driving his 2002 Ford Mustang about 11:55 p.m. north on Arkansas 549 about six miles north of Lamar when he overcorrected, the Mustang overturned and Smith was ejected, state police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by Miller County Coroner Eddie Hawkins, according to the report.
The weather was clear and the roads were dry during all three accidents, authorities noted.
Smith's death raised to 180 the number of vehicle accident fatalities on Arkansas roads so far this year, according to state police.
In addition, a Sunday afternoon wreck near Crosses in Madison County left an infant dead, Arkansas State Police said.
A 1999 Toyota was headed west on Arkansas 16 when it veered off the road, struck a sign, slid down an embankment and hit several trees before coming to rest in a culvert, a state police report said.
A 9-month-old was killed in the accident.
The driver, Hannah Bryan, 20, and a 6-month-old passenger were injured.