LITTLE ROCK — A Newport woman died Tuesday after a truck crossed the centerline of a Craighead County highway and struck the car she was riding in head-on.
Authorities say the wreck, which left two others in the car injured, happened about 1:15 p.m. on Arkansas 226 east of Cash.
According to a preliminary Arkansas State Police report, a 2000 Freightliner driven by 40-year-old Steven W. Thorpe was westbound on the highway when Thorpe didn't see a 2007 GMC that had stopped while waiting to turn onto County Road 237.
Police say the Freightliner crossed the centerline, struck the rear of the GMC and then hit an eastbound 1991 Mercury head-on.
A passenger in the Mercury identified as 57-year-old Jane L. Jungers was dead at the scene. Another passenger, 79-year-old Lue Wyatt, and driver Timothy Rucjer, 52, were hospitalized with unspecified injuries.
Thorpe and the GMC driver were not injured.
Jungers is the 446th person to die in a traffic accident in Arkansas so far this year.