FAYETTEVILLE -- A pair of Washington County sheriff's office deputies narrowly escaped injury Friday morning when their vehicles were hit by an 18-wheeler while they were working a wreck on icy Interstate 49 south of West Fork.
Cpl. Mitch Smothers and Cpl. Brian Velasco were assisting the Arkansas State Police when the crash occurred about 4 a.m., according to Maj. Rick Hoyt with the sheriff's office.
Hoyt said the accident happened in the southbound lanes just south of a bridge that was slippery with ice. He said one of the deputies had already been involved in a minor accident before the tractor-trailer hit the deputies' 2017 Chevrolet Tahoes.
"He was hit from behind on the way there," Hoyt said "They got there and they were stopped on the roadside, doing what they were supposed to be doing, when this 18-wheeler hit their vehicles."
Hoyt said neither deputy was injured.
One of the vehicles is considered a total loss, he said. The second will be evaluated by insurance adjusters, Hoyt said, adding that the sheriff's office will work with the trucking firm on an insurance settlement. Michael Metellus was driving the tractor-trailer owned by Beechnut Holding, LLC according to Kelly Cantrell with the Washington County sheriff's office.
A spokesman for the Arkansas State Police said the report on the wreck wasn't finished Friday morning.
State police were called to 42 wrecks in a two-hour period Thursday morning and about nine Friday morning, contributing to the delay in getting written reports completed.