Man, 19, killed after car veers off road in western Arkansas

A western Arkansas teenager was killed after his car veered off a highway and struck a tree Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The Arkansas State Police said the wreck happened just after 7 a.m. along U.S. Highway 71 near Ashdown, roughly 20 miles north of Texarkana.

Officials identified the driver as 19-year-old Charles M. Gillespie of Wilton. They said he was driving north along the highway when his Honda Civic went off the road while going around a curve before it slammed into a tree.

Gillespie suffered fatal injuries in the wreck.

State police listed no other injuries in the report, which noted clear weather and dry roads at the time of the crash.

Preliminary figures show at least 161 people have died in crashes along Arkansas roads so far this year, including at least 21 so far this month.

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