Arkansas woman killed, two others injured in crash on U.S. highway

A Batesville woman was killed and two other people were injured in a two-vehicle crash in Independence County on Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Cole Sample, 81, of Batesville was attempting to turn onto northbound U.S. 167 in the incorporated city of Southside around 1:45 p.m., according to a preliminary report from Arkansas State Police.

He failed to yield to traffic on the highway, state police said, and his 2017 Kia struck the front, right side of a 2009 Chrysler that was northbound on the highway.

Sample’s passenger, Viola Sample, 78, was killed in the crash, according to the report.

Cole Sample and the driver of the Chrysler, James Staton, 80, of Horseshoe Bend, were listed as hurt. The report did not detail the extent of their injuries.

The weather was clear and sunny, and roads were dry at the time of the crash, state police reported.

Viola Sample’s death was one of at least 144 recorded so far this year in crashes on state roads, according to preliminary figures.

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