An Interstate 40 wrong-way crash involving five vehicles Thursday morning in foggy conditions left a man dead and another person injured, according to authorities.
The pileup happened shortly before 7:30 a.m. between Exits 127 and 129 in Conway, Arkansas State Police spokesman Liz Chapman said.
Authorities say a 2006 Kia driven by 60-year-old Lloyd Cossey of Sherwood was traveling west in the eastbound lanes of I-40 shortly before it hit three other vehicles.
The Kia struck a tractor-trailer rig, then a 2009 Toyota and a 2001 Ford, according to a preliminary accident report released later in the day.
[FATAL WRECKS: Complete coverage of deadly crashes in Arkansas]
The Ford then crashed into the rear of a 2006 Dodge driven by a state trooper who was on his way to work in Little Rock, police noted. The identity of the trooper was not released.
Cossey was killed in the pileup. The driver of the tractor-trailer rig, a Greenbrier resident, was injured, the report states.
No other injuries were reported.
Officers with the state police and the Conway Police Department responded to the crash scene, Chapman said.
On Wednesday, a 26-year-old motorcyclist died when the vehicle ran off Arkansas 59 and hit a utility pole, state police said.
Francisco Landaverde of Siloam Springs was traveling north on Arkansas 59 in Washington County about 8 p.m. when he lost control of the motorcycle in a curve, according to a preliminary crash report.
The motorcycle crossed the centerline, left the west side of the roadway and hit the pole, authorities said.
State police said Landaverde was pronounced dead at the scene by the Washington County coroner.
Conditions were reportedly clear and dry at the time of the crash.
Also Wednesday, a 31-year-old Arkansas man was killed when his vehicle ran off a bridge and hit a culvert, state police said.
Anthony Kennon of Greenwood was driving a 2002 GMC east on Arkansas 10 in Logan County about midnight Wednesday when he lost control of the vehicle in a curve, according to a preliminary crash report.
The vehicle crossed the centerline, went into a ditch, traveled off a nearby bridge and hit the concrete culvert, officials said.
It was reportedly foggy at the time, but the roads were clear, according to state police.
Late Tuesday afternoon, a crash involving three tractor-trailer rigs on I-40 outside of North Little Rock killed a man from Mexico, police said.
Abner Alejandro Alvarez Carballo, 36, was driving a 2015 International truck west on I-40 around 4:45 p.m. just east of the Arkansas 391 exit, according to an Arkansas State Police report. An earlier accident had stopped traffic there. The International truck failed to stop and struck the rear of a 2014 Freightliner truck, sending that truck into another tractor-trailer rig, police said.
Carballo was fatally injured. The Freightliner's driver, 55-year-old Lonnie Butler of Woodstock, was injured and taken to Baptist Medical Health Center-North Little Rock, officials said.
Police said it was cloudy, and roads were wet at the time of the crashes.
On Monday, a motorcycle rider from Arkansas was killed after the vehicle veered off of a highway and struck a mailbox in Pope County, officials said.
Killed was Justin Dixon, 28, of Russellville, who was riding a 2010 Kawasaki motorcycle south on Arkansas 27 west of Hector around 2:30 p.m., according to a state police report. The vehicle went off the highway, hit the mailbox and came to a stop in a ditch, officials said.
Dixon was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was reported injured in the crash.
Police said the weather was clear, and the roads were dry at the time of the accident.
According to preliminary figures from the state police, 65 people have died in accidents on state roads in 2017.
Metro on 02/24/2017