Arkansas State Police officials released the names Thursday of the people involved in a fiery interstate crash in Little Rock that killed one and injured three Wednesday.
Terry Harrell, 60, of Jacksonville was pronounced dead at the scene of the Interstate 440 crash after his body was pulled from the smoldering wreckage of his Wal-Mart Stores Inc. tractor-trailer, which had burst into flames after a sedan struck its fuel tanks about 1:55 p.m.
Harrell was driving east on I-440 and was in the right-hand lane when his truck slammed into a Chevrolet Impala that was backing up on the roadway, according to reports.
According to state police, the Impala’s driver, Leigh Miller, had missed an exit and was backing up to reach an on-ramp.
Miller, 23, of 420 Markham Mesa Drive in Little Rock was injured, but state police did not divulge the extent of her injuries Thursday.
Her passenger, Devontae Akins, 21, was also hurt, though state police officials did not have the details of his injuries.
After Harrell’s truck hit the car and caught fire, it hit another tractor-trailer in the center lane, setting that truck on fire, reports say.
The driver of the second truck, Jose Arellano, a 38-year old Mexican citizen, was taken to UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock for treatment, though he was standing and talking with other motorists shortly after the crash.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler pointed out that the preliminary fatal accident report’s summary was left blank because of an ongoing criminal investigation.
According to Sadler, state police detectives were dispatched to the crash site late Thursday afternoon and will be working with the state police patrol division in the investigation.
The results of the investigation will be sent to the prosecuting attorney’s office for review, according to Sadler, who declined to speculate about what charges, if any, will result from the investigation.
The fire destroyed the Wal-Mart truck, and it took firefighters more than an hour to extinguish the blaze, reports said.
Whether Harrell died because of the crash or the fire remains under investigation, and Pulaski County Coroner Gerone Hobbs said Harrell’s body has been sent to the state medical examiner.
The crash halted traffic on the major Little Rock bypass and caused a ripple effect that led to congestion and delays on other major interstates, highways and city thoroughfares.
By 9:18 p.m. Wednesday, state police reopened two of the three I-440 lanes, and the third lane was reopened later Wednesday night.
Part of the delay in reopening the roadway was the need for it to be inspected by an engineer, according Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department officials.
“The concrete barrier wall is damaged; the pavement, due to the intensity of the heat, is damaged,” agency spokesman Randy Ort said. “It’s not a threat, it’s not unsafe, but it will require some repairs on our part in some point in time.”
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 03/21/2014