Arkansas State Police probe multiple deadly I-30 crashes

HEMPSTEAD CO., Ark. (KTAL/KMSS) — Early Monday morning, a stretch of Interstate-30 saw multiple fatal crashes all within a relatively short period of time that left traffic backed up for miles until around noon.

According to Arkansas State Police, the first fatal crash that happened on I-30 West near Fulton, AR, occurred just after 1 a.m.

“A contractor working on highway maintenance near the 18-mile marker westbound in Hempstead County was placing reflectors on the center line of the roadway when the gentleman was struck by a westbound vehicle,” said Lt. Jamie Gravier with the Arkansas State Police.

The contractor was killed, and state police say the driver left behind their Buick Sentry and fled on foot. The driver is still at large and is considered a person of interest as they seek to identify them.

As authorities began their investigation and crews worked to clear the roadway of that first crash, traffic began to back up.

“There was a second crash involving a Chevrolet Tahoe and another tractor-trailer. Very minor injuries, but once again traffic began to back up again from that crash, and that’s when the third, the most serious, occurred,” said Lt. Gravier.

The third crash involved three tractor-trailers and a Dodge pickup with four people inside. The two backseat passengers were killed while the driver and front seat passenger were seriously injured.

“The time frame of when they occurred was over one hour from the start of one until the third one occurred, but it was due to traffic backing up, and it’s early a.m. So there’s not much traffic, people not paying attention, not used to someone being out there on the interstate at that time of day. And so, you put all three of those within about 1.5 mile proximity, then that’s why we ended up with the situation we were in this morning,” said Lt. Gravier.

The crashes are still under investigation, and police are working on identifying the driver of the first vehicle. The names of the three victims have not yet been released.