FAYETTEVILLE -- A Wisconsin man died and two other people were injured at 10 p.m. Wednesday when three semitrailers collided on Interstate 49 near Greenland, according to an Arkansas State Police preliminary report.
The deadly accident blocked both lanes of northbound traffic, according to the report.
A Volvo truck driven by Mark W. Newswander, 48, of Harrison was headed north on I-49 when it veered off the road and into the median, according to the report. When Newswander tried to steer the truck back onto the interstate, it overturned onto the driver's side, and the trailer spilled its contents onto the road, according to the report.
A Freightliner truck driven by Gary W. Meyer, 52, of Imperial, Mo., slowed to avoid the wreck and was hit from behind by a Mack truck driven by Johnny M. Scialabba, 50, of Watts, Okla. The Mack truck was then hit from behind by a Peterbilt truck driven by Billy W. Kramer, Jr., 48, of Sparta, Wis.
Kramer was killed, and his passenger, wife Irene A. Kramer, 63, was injured. Newswander also was hurt in the accident, according to the report.
Irene Kramer and Newswander were taken to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, according to the preliminary report. Neither person's name showed up as being in the hospital at 2 p.m. Thursday, said Gina Maddox, hospital spokesman. Maddox couldn't say if that meant Kramer and Newswander had been released.
Road conditions were dry and clear Wednesday night, according to the preliminary report. The incident remains under investigation, and no one had been cited, according to the Arkansas State Police in Springdale.
NW News on 02/27/2015