Woman killed after vehicle leaves roadway in Franklin County

A 30-year-old woman was killed when her car veered off a wet highway in Franklin County before 1 a.m. Friday, Arkansas State Police said.

Lauren Jo Smiley of Ratcliff was headed southbound on Arkansas 23 about a mile south of Arkansas 228 when the Ford Taurus she was driving left the roadway and struck a tree in a ditch before overturning, according to an accident report.

The car landed on its driver side with Smiley partially ejected and having been killed on impact, the report said.

Road conditions at the time were wet and rainy, police said.

It was the 471st fatality on Arkansas road in 2015, according to preliminary police records.

Several drivers have been killed as a band of wet weather brings flooding and freezing rain to the central U.S. over the Thanksgiving holiday, The Associated Press reported Friday.

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