Fatal I-40 crash involving 8 vehicles in east Arkansas cleared, officials say

A deadly wreck along involving eight vehicles stalled traffic along Interstate 40 on May 22, 2019, for several hours. Photo by Arkansas Department of Transportation.
A deadly wreck along involving eight vehicles stalled traffic along Interstate 40 on May 22, 2019, for several hours. Photo by Arkansas Department of Transportation.

A series of crashes involving eight vehicles Wednesday morning killed at least one person, bringing traffic along Interstate 40 to a standstill between Little Rock and Memphis as crews took hours to clear the road for stuck drivers, authorities said.

The crashes closed down all westbound lanes of I-40 following the wreck, which happened around 7:45 a.m. just east of Forrest City in St. Francis County, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

The agency said the collisions involved four commercial trucks and four other vehicles. It could take until 3 p.m. to clear debris and damaged vehicles from the wrecks, officials said.

Arkansas State Police spokeswoman Cpl. Liz Chapman confirmed at least one person was killed. A report of the crashes also listed injuries.

It wasn’t immediately known what caused the wrecks or the number of people hurt.

“It could be anything,” said Danny Straessle, a spokesman for the transportation department.

This Arkansas Department of Transportation graphic shows the approximate site of the series of crashes that took place on Wednesday morning, killing at least one.
This Arkansas Department of Transportation graphic shows the approximate site of the series of crashes that took place on Wednesday morning, killing at least one.

State police were still investigating the crashes late Wednesday morning, according to authorities.

The highway department said it cleared debris and damaged vehicles blocking the entire westbound around noon, more than four hours after the wrecks.

Straessle said Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to be the busiest days for commercial trucks along the mainly rural interstate corridor connecting Little Rock to Memphis. Daily travel sees some 40,000 vehicles pass through, and about half are commercial trucks.

“We just see an enormous uptick in the number of trucks that come through,” Straessle said.

The eastbound lanes remained open, and authorities detoured westward traffic around the crash using U.S. Highway 70.

Wednesday's wrecks comes weeks after a similar streak of crashes in St. Francis County in March where three people were killed in a fiery wreck that took several hours to reopen the interstate.

Chapman urged drivers to pay attention while in the area as crews continued their clean up.

Upcoming Events