A 7-year-old boy was fatally struck after getting out of a vehicle that was involved in a collision with a truck on Interstate 40 Sunday night in Pulaski County, authorities said.
It happened shortly before 7 p.m. near the 140 mile marker, which is about 2 miles west of the Maumelle exit.
According to a preliminary Arkansas State Police report, a 2000 Toyota "came into contact" with a 2018 Freightliner in the westbound lanes as rain fell in the area, causing the Toyota to hit the highway's concrete barrier. The occupants of the Toyota got out of that vehicle and were then hit by a westbound 2013 Nissan, police wrote. A 2007 Acura reportedly then hit the stopped Toyota.
The state police report listed a minor who suffered fatal injuries and a second person who was also hurt. No information about the second person was listed.
An official with the Pulaski County coroner's office said the minor who died was a 7-year-old boy.
All lanes of westbound I-40 were closed for more than an hour while authorities investigated the crash.
The death is the second of the year in a traffic crash in Arkansas, according to preliminary figures.
