Five people died Wednesday and early Thursday in separate crashes on roadways in Arkansas, authorities said.
An Oklahoma woman who sped through eastern Oklahoma at more than 100 mph died early Thursday when her car hit a wall and overturned near downtown Fort Smith.
Jessica Schwarz, 27, of Muldrow, Okla., was pronounced dead at the scene on Rogers Avenue near Lexington Avenue at 12:10 a.m., Fort Smith police spokesman Sgt. Daniel Grubbs said.
Roland, Okla., patrol officer Travis Sexton first encountered Schwarz driving a 2010 Ford Focus at 12:05 a.m. as she sped along U.S. 64 through the eastern Oklahoma town at 77 mph in a 45-mph zone, Police Chief Tommy Sessums said.
Sexton pursued Schwarz's car, which topped 100 mph in the 6 miles between Roland and the Arkansas state line. Sexton radioed to Fort Smith police that the car was approaching, Sessums said.
Sessums said the car was not weaving or being driven erratically, but the driver would not slow down.
"Once we got to the [Arkansas River] bridge, we stopped our pursuit," Sessums said.
Grubbs said Fort Smith police had been notified that the Roland, Okla., officer was ending his pursuit at the state line. Moments later, the Fort Smith Police Department received the report of the crash.
The wreck occurred on the eastern side of downtown, reports said. Grubbs said it was unclear how fast Schwarz was driving in the downtown area but it had to be fast because of the damage done to the car.
He said it appeared that Schwarz was trying to negotiate a curve where downtown's Garrison Avenue merges into Rogers Avenue. The car hit a traffic island, became airborne, hit a stone wall on the south side of the street and overturned.
By the time first responders arrived at the scene and removed Schwarz from the wreckage, Grubbs said, she was dead. There was no odor of alcohol at the scene, he said, and Schwarz's family could not explain why she was driving so fast.
Her body was being sent Thursday to the state Medical Examiner's office for autopsy, Grubbs said.
In Hempstead County on Wednesday afternoon, a woman died after her vehicle collided with another on Interstate 30, authorities said.
Carolyn Oldner, 67, of Nashville, Tenn., was pointed east on I-30 in Hope in a 2013 Ford Escape around 3:30 p.m., according to an Arkansas State Police report. Her vehicle was sitting on the shoulder of the roadway and had started to turn into traffic when it was struck by a 2008 Toyota also traveling east, police said.
A passenger in the Escape, 59-year-old Karen Elmore of McCaskill, and a passenger in the Toyota, 58-year-old Cheryl Greene of Prescott, were injured in the crash. At least one of the women was taken to a hospital in Texarkana, authorities said.
Road and weather conditions were clear and dry at the time of the crash, state police said.
Earlier Wednesday, an Arkansas man was killed after his car left a highway and overturned in Perry County, state police said.
Craig Allen Spears, 58, of Bigelow was driving a 2006 Honda Accord west on Arkansas 60 around 6:30 a.m. when the vehicle left the roadway and overturned, according to an Arkansas State Police report.
Conditions were clear and dry at the time of the crash. No one else was injured in the crash.
In northeast Arkansas early Wednesday, authorities said two people were killed and another was injured in a head-on collision.
Clay County Sheriff Terry Miller said the crash happened Wednesday morning on U.S. 67 near the Clay and Randolph county line.
According to a preliminary report from the Arkansas State Police, 43-year-old Christopher Bryant of Carlisle and 66-year-old Brenda Christopher of Russellville were killed when a tractor-trailer crossed the centerline and crashed into their vehicle.
Another passenger in Bryant's vehicle was injured and taken to a hospital in Memphis.
Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.
Metro on 12/23/2016