A head-on collision in Little Rock left an 84-year-old man dead Wednesday, the Arkansas State Police said.
Amber Wells, 18, was driving a 2003 Pontiac east on Cantrell Road at Ranch Drive about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday when the car veered into the westbound lane, hitting head-on a 1999 Kia driven by Leroy Patterson, 84, of Roland, according to a preliminary state police accident report.
Patterson died at Baptist Health Medical Center as a result of his injuries about 4:40 p.m., authorities said.
Wells and a passenger were also injured, and Little Rock police officers cut the front doors off the Pontiac in order to extricate them, according to a Little Rock police vehicle accident report.
The two were taken to UAMS Medical Center, according to the report, but their conditions weren’t immediately available Thursday.
Wells told Little Rock officers that she was driving east on Cantrell when a sport utility vehicle traveling in the lane next to her entered her lane, so she swerved to avoid the SUV and hit the Kia, the Little Rock accident report states. A witness told police she had seen the SUV swerving in and out of traffic.
Patterson’s death marked the 134th on Arkansas roads so far this year, according to preliminary state police figures.