An eight-vehicle crash Wednesday on Interstate 40 near Atkins left one person dead and four injured, according to a preliminary summary from state police.
State police said a Peterbilt truck was driving east around 4:20 p.m. on I-40 when it struck a Chevrolet of an unlisted model from behind.
The tractor-trailer continued on and struck a Dodge Ram, causing it to go off the road, according to the crash summary. The truck then hit a Hyundai Sonata in the side, sending the Sonata into the back of a Toyota 4Runner.
The 4Runner hit the rear driver’s side of a Honda Pilot and then a Kia Soul, sending the Soul off the road, according to state police. The Pilot hit a Toyota Camry from behind.
The driver of the Chevrolet died, but she remains unidentified.
Danny White, Pope County coroner, said her vehicle caught on fire and she has not been identified because her body was badly damaged and no license or ID cards were found.
White said the state medical examiner will use DNA to positively identify her. He said the examiner will also try to determine her cause of death, though he added it may be impossible to tell if the fire or something else, such as impact from the crash, was the immediate cause.
The driver of the 4Runner, the driver of the Sonata, the driver of the Ram and the driver of the Soul were all injured in the wreck.
Weather conditions at the time of the wreck were clear, according to state police, but traffic was slowed. Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said he did not immediately know whether the slowdown was caused by construction or heavy traffic.
Sadler also said the full crash report is still underway.
There have been 377 deaths on Arkansas roads this year, according to preliminary numbers.