Springdale man fatally struck on I-40 near Van Buren

Thursday, January 23, 2014

A construction worker was fatally struck on Interstate 40 outside Van Buren early Thursday, authorities said.

Bill Sadler, spokesman for Arkansas State Police, identified the man as Kevin Anderson, 49, of Springdale.

Jerry Estep, 26, of Coal Hill, was traveling westbound on I-40 near the 10 mile marker when he struck Anderson at approximately 6:21 a.m., according to a preliminary fatal crash summary released by the police department.

Randy Ort, spokesman for Arkansas Highway And Transportation Department, said before Anderson was identified that the man killed was a contract data collector who was picking up tubing that's laid across the road to count traffic.

The wreck happened at about the 10.5 mile marker, which is about three miles east of Van Buren.

The Arkansas Online live traffic map showed some slowed traffic on the westbound side of the highway at that time.