HOT SPRINGS -- Traffic on Central Avenue was backed up for miles in both directions for about three hours Thursday afternoon after a food delivery truck overturned on the south shore bridge over Lake Hamilton after a collision with a pickup.
All four lanes of the highway, Arkansas 7, were blocked at times as emergency agencies worked the scene of the collision in the 5200 block of Central Avenue, and a wrecker could pull the Sysco tractor-trailer delivery truck back on its wheels.
The collision occurred about noon, but traffic didn't resume its regular flow until about 3 p.m.
Arkansas State Police Cpl. James Avant said Daniel Tyler Fisher, 25, was northbound in a Chevrolet Colorado pickup when he crossed the centerline and struck the tractor-trailer rig driven by Michael A. Goggin, 27, who was southbound in the inside lane.
After the collision, the delivery truck apparently struck the west side of the bridge and overturned, coming to rest on its side in the two southbound lanes of the bridge, authorities said. Neither driver was transported from the scene by ambulance.
In addition to state police and LifeNet, firefighters from Lake Hamilton Fire Department responded to the scene and provided traffic assistance.
At one point, northbound traffic was backed up on Central to Amity Road, while southbound traffic was backed up to Central's intersection with the south end of Higdon Ferry Road.
About 2 p.m. Thursday, Bo Robertson, director of the Garland County Department of Emergency Management, said the truck had been placed upright, and the Emergency Management department and the Lake Hamilton Fire Department had put "oil dry," an absorbent that is similar to cat litter, to absorb fluids leaking from the truck.
State Desk on 03/04/2017