A two-vehicle crash in rural Jefferson County on Thursday morning left a woman dead and a man injured, troopers said.
The wreck happened shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday, as 22-year-old Taronda Thomas drove north on U.S. 63 north of Pine Bluff, according to a preliminary report by the Arkansas State Police. As Thomas crossed the Arkansas River bridge, the 2013 Hyundai she was driving veered left over the centerline and struck a 2019 Jeep head-on, the report states.
Troopers said Thomas, who was from Pine Bluff, died as a result of the crash. The Jeep’s driver, a 21-year-old Stuttgart man, was injured.
The wreck occurred about four days after a 19-year-old Louisiana woman died when her vehicle struck a tree in Lafayette County, a separate crash report states.
Jennifer Renae Hicks of Springhill, La., was driving north on Arkansas 53 at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday when her vehicle, a 2007 Nissan Sentra, crossed the centerline, troopers said. According to the report, the Nissan drove along an embankment and hit the tree, killing Hicks.
No passengers or other victims were listed in the report.
Troopers described conditions as clear and dry at the time of each crash.
At least 540 people have died in crashes on Arkansas roads so far this year, preliminary numbers indicate.