Multiple crashes in Northwest Arkansas caused portions of Interstate 49 north to close for roughly three hours on Saturday, officials said.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said preliminary information from the scene suggests there were as many as 12 different crash sites along a section I-49 stretching from south of the Bobby Hopper Tunnel to the tunnel's north side.
The wrecks were first reported by the state Department of Transportation shortly before 11:30 a.m. The department reported the interstate was clear just after 2:30 p.m.
Sadler attributed the first crashes to rainy conditions along the highway, but added that some in the series of wrecks were caused by drivers trying to avoid crashes ahead of them.
A single northbound lane of I-49 was reopened for a short time early Saturday afternoon, but was closed again after a driver rear-ended a state trooper’s vehicle as it blocked the south end of the tunnel, according to Sadler.
The trooper was uninjured in the crash, authorities said, but the driver who rear-ended the state police vehicle was being assessed by ambulance crews on the scene.
Only one person was transported from the scene for medical treatment, said Danny Straessle, Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesman.
“Not a good day for drivers on I-49, with the wet weather there,” he said