Arkansas Department of Transportation gives update on cause of Monday’s deadly Hempstead County crashes

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Department of Transportation Director Jared Wiley released a statement Monday evening regarding the cause of multiple fatal accidents in Hempstead County.

The statement said the initial crash was when a highway contractor working near Fulton was hit and killed in a highway work zone. The subsequent traffic backup at the accident site led to two additional crashes, which included two additional fatalities, Wiley said.

Arkansas State Police reported Monday that 44-year-old Jonathan Gary Williams of Sherwood was the highway contractor who was killed at approximately 1 a.m. He was applying reflectors on the roadway centerline from a special trailer at the time, officials said.

Williams was struck by a 2004 Buick Century, and its driver fled the scene on foot and has not yet been located, ASP officials said.

Officials said another two-vehicle crash was reported at 2:15 a.m. near the 19-mile marker. That crash resulted in minor injuries and the drivers were treated at the scene.

ASP officials reported a third crash at 3:36 a.m. just east of the Red River at Fulton near the 20-mile marker. The crash involved three tractor-trailers and a pickup truck, killing two people and injuring two others.

Officials said pickup passengers 25-year-old Jonathan Garcia and 61-year-old Javier Rivera, both of Hope, were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and another passenger of the pickup were transported to nearby hospitals with serious injuries.

Wiley concluded his statement by reminding that it is the duty of drivers in Arkansas to protect highway workers, then adding: “These losses were the result of a preventable tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers are with these individuals’ loved ones and coworkers.”