Driver, cyclist die in wrong-way crash on Main Street Bridge in North Little Rock

A wrong-way collision of a pickup and a bicyclist left two people dead Wednesday afternoon on the North Little Rock side of the Main Street Bridge, authorities said.

The collision occurred after the truck's driver fled the scene of a crash a few blocks away and drove the wrong way onto the Main Street Bridge, fatally hitting a bicyclist who was traveling north, said Sgt. Brian Dedrick, a North Little Rock police spokesman.

The crash also killed the driver, who was thrown from the Ford F-150, he said.

North Little Rock police were dispatched to the crash at 2:38 p.m., Dedrick said.

[FATAL WRECKS: Complete coverage of deadly crashes in Arkansas]

The truck hit concrete barriers on both sides of the bridge as it tried to cross going in the wrong direction, he said.

"From what witnesses are telling us, the truck was going very fast," Dedrick said. "I don't know if the bicyclist would have even had time to react -- if they would have anywhere to go, for that matter."

There was heavy damage to the driver's side of the truck, including a door that was almost completely off, Dedrick said.

Both the bicyclist and the driver were pronounced dead at the scene. Police did not release the identity of either.

Dedrick said the driver's body was found about 20 feet from where the truck came to rest.

The fatal crash occurred moments after the driver fled the scene of an accident at Fifth and North Main streets, Dedrick said.

In that crash, he said the driver stopped and told a woman involved in the crash that he would get his contact information. Instead, the woman told police, the driver got back into the truck and sped off, heading south on Main Street, Dedrick said.

Dedrick said wrong-way accidents are not common on the Main Street Bridge. From the North Little Rock side, traffic exits and enters the bridge through separate, one-way roads a block a part. The two one-way roads converge to form a main artery between Little Rock and North Little Rock.

The body of the driver would be sent to the state Crime Laboratory for toxicology tests, Dedrick said.

It was unclear Wednesday afternoon whether the driver was wearing a seat belt or if the bicyclist was wearing a helmet.

Dedrick said the pickup's license plate is registered to an address outside North Little Rock.

Investigators remained at the scene Wednesday afternoon as the truck sat on an overpass above Riverfront Drive on the North Little Rock side of the Arkansas River. The road remain closed for hours Wednesday afternoon.

Metro on 03/16/2017