A man and woman were killed Monday when a truck crossed the centerline and hit their pickup on U.S. 64 in Crittenden County, authorities said.
James N. Pitchford, 70, was driving a 2005 Ford F-150 east on the highway about two miles east of Earle when a westbound Freightliner truck crossed into the opposing lanes and hit the pickup, Arkansas State Police said in a report. It happened about 12:15 p.m. in rainy, wet conditions.
The crash sent the F-150 into a ditch on the south side of the highway, where it caught fire. Pitchford and a passenger, Mattie J. Pitchford, 69, both of Wynne, died at the scene.
The Freightliner driver, identified as 43-year-old David C. Watkins, of Millinton, Tenn., was not injured.
The deaths marked the 228th and 229th people to die in a traffic accident in Arkansas so far this year, according to preliminary figures.