A Little Rock man was killed Friday morning when his pickup was hit by an 18-wheeler on Interstate 30, snarling traffic in the area for some time.
It happened about 9:45 a.m. in the eastbound lanes near Interstate 430. All but the inside lane was reported reopened by noon and traffic was moving freely through the area by mid-afternoon, the Arkansas Online live traffic map showed.
Arkansas State Police say it happened as a Dodge pickup driven by 59-year-old Winston M. Smith was merging from Interstate 430 onto eastbound I-30.
According to a preliminary report, the pickup drove off the shoulder and then reentered I-30, where it was hit by an eastbound tractor trailer.
The pickup broke into multiple parts on impact, including at least one part that then caught fire.
Smith died at the scene. The tractor trailer driver wasn't injured.
The death was the 149th in a traffic crash in Arkansas so far this year, according to preliminary figures.
