A Greenwood motorcyclist was killed and his passenger was injured in a hit-and-run south of Fort Smith on Wednesday night, Arkansas State Police troopers said.
John L. Hayes, 51, was driving south in the outside lane of U.S. 71 near Gate Nine Cutoff Road in Sebastian County at around 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to a preliminary crash report from state police. That section of U.S. 71 is a little more than a mile southeast of the Interstate 49 interchange, and about 10 miles south of the Fort Smith Regional Airport.
Hayes lost control of the motorcycle and fell in the inside lane of southbound U.S. 71, troopers said.
Another southbound vehicle struck Hayes as he was lying in the road and continued without stopping, troopers said. No description was available for that vehicle.
It was unclear as of Friday afternoon whether the passenger on the motorcycle, a 37-year-old woman from Fort Smith, was injured when Hayes lost control of the motorcycle or was injured by the hit-and-run.
Hayes and his passenger were taken to Mercy Hospital Fort Smith.
Troopers describe the conditions at the time of the crash as clear and dry.
At least 141 people were killed as a result of crashes on Arkansas roads so far this year, according to a summary report from the Department of Public Safety.