Local man dies in crash on Saturday

An El Dorado man was killed Saturday in a car wreck that occurred in Saline County.

According to a road fatality report produced by the Arkansas State Police, Eduardo Arias Santana, 34, was a passenger in a 2007 Hyundai Tuscon headed west on Highway 70 in the early hours of the morning when the wreck occurred.

The report says Santana’s vehicle crossed the center line of the roadway and crashed head-on into a 2020 GMC Arcadia headed east driven by Lyndee Irving, 27, of Amity. Irving, who was injured in the wreck, was transported to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Hot Springs.

The wreck occurred at 5:14 a.m. on April 3 at 11500 Hwy. 70, according to the report. ASP Trooper Kyle Ellison responded. Weather and road conditions were listed as clear and dry at the time of the wreck.

Santana is the 127th person to die on an Arkansas highway in a car wreck so far this year. The wreck is the 117th fatal accident to occur on a state highway in 2021, according to the report.

According to previous News-Times reporting, one other El Dorado resident has died in a car accident on the highway this year: local cardiologist Dr. Aldo Fonticiella, 63, was killed in an accident on Highway 82 on February 7.

Another fatal car accident that occurred on January 8 on the Calion River Bridge killed two Arkansas men: William J. Bradly, 21, of Hampton, and Eric C. White, 44, of West Monroe. Additionally, Joanna McJunkin, 35, of McRae was killed on March 27 in a car accident in Union County that also left Shawn Strickland, 25, of El Dorado injured.