Crash in Arkansas work zone kills 6-year-old; 3 die in separate head-on wreck

Fatal wrecks in Arkansas
Fatal wrecks in Arkansas

At least four people have died -- three in one accident -- in Arkansas since Saturday.

A crash in a foggy east Arkansas work zone on Saturday evening killed a 6-year-old from Jonesboro and injured five others, including two minors, according to state police and county officials.

The wreck happened in Cherry Valley, about 30 miles south of Jonesboro, at about 6:10 p.m., a preliminary crash report states. A 2003 Toyota Sequoia traveling east on Arkansas 1 entered a construction zone, where it dropped off the road before its driver overcorrected, according to a preliminary Arkansas State Police report.

The SUV, driven by 34-year-old Annette Frye of Jonesboro, then crossed into the southbound lanes and struck a 2018 Nissan Frontier, police said.

A 6-year-old in Frye's vehicle was transported to Le Bonhuer Children's Hospital in Memphis and later died, said Terry Woodard, Cross County coroner.

[RELATED: Click here for full coverage of fatal wrecks in Arkansas » arkansasonline.com/fatalwrecks/]

Frye and two additional minors in the Sequoia were injured in the crash, though the children's ages weren't included in the report. The driver of the pickup, 48-year-old William Colvin, and a passenger, 56-year-old Celeste Colvin, both of Wynne, were also injured.

The fatal wreck happened on a section of road in which a northbound passing lane was being constructed, state Department of Transportation spokesman Danny Straessle said. Such work can create "some type of a drop off," he said.

Three people died after two pickups crashed head-on in Johnson County on Saturday afternoon, police said.

The wreck happened shortly after 3:30 p.m. in Flat Rock, according to a preliminary report by Arkansas State Police. A 1999 Ford Ranger traveling east on U.S. 64 crossed the centerline and collided with the front of a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, the report stated.

Troopers said the Ranger's driver, 42-year-old James Carroll of Russellville, and a passenger, 37-year-old Jennifer Carroll of Dardanelle, were killed. The driver of the Silverado, 60-year-old Donald Nelms of Corinth, Miss., also died.

The report didn't say what may have caused the Ranger to cross the centerline.

Conditions were clear and dry at the time of the wreck, authorities said.

Metro on 12/10/2019

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