Two men killed in separate accidents

A Hampton man and a Smackover man were killed in separate accidents in Union County earlier this week.

Jimmy Hatch, 59, of Hampton, was killed when his car traveled off the road and into trees at about 9:40 p.m. Tuesday in the 1800 block of East State Line Road in Junction City, according to a preliminary crash report from Arkansas State Police.

Hatch was driving west on the highway in a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, police said.

While rounding a left-hand curve, the Corvette left the road and struck two trees.

Hatch suffered fatal injuries. A passenger, a 29-year-old Hot Springs woman, was taken to the Medical Center of South Arkansas with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the report.

Timmy Gathright, 52, of Smackover, died after the sport utility vehicle he was driving left a road and overturned, police said.

The single-vehicle crash happened around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday in the 1500 block of Daniel Road in Smackover, according to a preliminary report.

Police say Gathright made an abrupt left turn in a 1987 Ford Bronco, causing the SUV to strike a ditch embankment, rotate clockwise and overturn.

The vehicle then came to a rest on its left side, according to authorities.

Gathright suffered fatal injuries as a result. No one else was reported hurt.

The weather was described as clear and the road was said to be dry in the case of both accidents.