The Arkansas State Police said racing caused a crash on Interstate 430 on Saturday afternoon that killed a Benton man and injured his wife.
Gerald Allen, 84, was killed near mile marker 4 on I-430 just before 1:30 p.m. A 2012 Dodge Charger driven by Darmel Batemon Jr., 20, of North Little Rock struck the rear of the 2015 Toyota Avalon that Allen was driving. The Toyota was forced off the roadway and hit a tree.
Batemon and Gerald’s wife, Lucille Allen, 81, also of Benton, were injured in the crash and taken to Little Rock hospitals for treatment.
The state police said in a news release that Batemon and at least one other motorist were racing at the time of the collision, which disrupted traffic on the interstate for over an hour. Batemon had not been charged with a crime as of Tuesday afternoon, and police did not identify any other driver believed to have been racing at the time of the crash.