Wrecks on state roads kill 4 people, injure 1

Three people died Thursday in separate accidents on Arkansas roads, authorities said.

Meanwhile, Arkansas State Police on Thursday reported the death of an Arkansas man in a crash last weekend.

A 21-year-old Arkansas State University student died in a crash Thursday night, the university said in a news release Friday afternoon.

Shelby Rhodes of Sheridan was a rising senior and president of the school’s Honors College Association, according to the statement.

“The Arkansas State University community is deeply saddened by the loss of such a talented and dedicated student leader,” ASU Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said in the release.

Rhodes crashed around 7:40 p.m. Thursday after she lost control of her vehicle while driving in the rain in Grant County and began spinning counterclockwise across U.S. 167, Arkansas State Police said.

Her 2008 Ford Mustang crossed the center turn lane and collided with a 2015 Nissan Altima driving in the opposite direction, according to a preliminary crash report. The Altima came to a stop in a ditch, state police reported.

Jermaine Jackson, a 32-yearold Baton Rouge resident and driver of the Altima, was taken to UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock, the report stated.

Conditions were reported by police as rainy and wet at the time of the crash.

“This tragic loss has and will continue to devastate the Honors and A-State community,” said Rebecca Oliver, director of the Honors College. “Shelby was a student leader, a sweet soul, and had a bright future ahead of her.”

A Benton man died Thursday night after his Pontiac caught fire when it hit a tree in Jefferson County, state police said.

It happened around 9:45 p.m. on Interstate 530 near Redfield, according to a police

report.

Donny Stewart, 43, was driving a 2009 Pontiac south when the vehicle veered off the road, struck a tree and caught fire, state police said.

No one else was injured in the wreck, police said.

State police reported conditions as clear and dry at the time.

A Harrison resident was fatally struck while he was sitting on a state highway in Boone County early Thursday, state police said.

A 2001 Chevrolet was heading south on Arkansas 43 south of Harrison around 2 a.m., according to a state police report.

Joshua Womack, 18, was sitting in the southbound lane, according to the report. The driver of the Chevrolet did not see him and fatally struck the teen, state police said. The driver was unhurt.

The report didn’t indicate why Womack was sitting on the highway.

Conditions were cloudy and dry at the time of the accident, state police said.

A 24-year-old Russellville man was killed in Logan County on Aug. 5 after a vehicle he was driving rolled over several times, police said Thursday.

Andrew Pollack was traveling north on Crossroads North Road west of Scranton on a 2013 Can-Am when he turned right onto Patterson Bluff Road around 9:50 p.m., according to a state police report.

The Can-Am brand makes all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles. It was not clear from the report which was involved in the wreck.

The vehicle crossed the centerline and ran off the road, which caused Pollack to overcorrect, state police said. The Can-Am then flipped over multiple times, state police said.

Conditions were reported to be clear and dry at the time.