Agency names victims in fatal wrecks in state

LITTLE ROCK — At least eight people died in road accidents since Saturday, authorities said. Also, the identities of two other victims in a crash last week were released.

The Arkansas State Police reported a Barling man died Monday in a single-vehicle crash on Arkansas 549 at Massard Road in Fort Smith.

Joseph William Pearson, 36, was killed when his 2003 Ford left the road and rolled over twice in the median, throwing him out.

The weather was rainy and the road was wet.

State police reported a Conway man died Monday on Arkansas 89 in Mayflower when he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a ditch.

Thomas W. Padgett, 59, was driving a 2014 Kawasaki VN900 north on the state highway at Lollie Road at the time; weather conditions were clear and the road was dry. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Bald Knob man was struck and killed while attempting to cross U.S. 67 in Searcy on foot Monday.

Caleb Basinger-Wills, 19, was hit by a 2019 Dodge Charger in the left lane of the highway and knocked into the median.

The driver told troopers he was traveling north on U.S. 67 about 3:10 p.m. and was unable to slow down in time.

Conditions were listed as clear and dry at the time of the crash.

A 29-year-old man died and four others were injured after the SUV they were in crashed while fleeing from authorities in east Arkansas on Friday, troopers said.

The wreck happened at about 7:35 a.m. on Arkansas 1 near St. Charles in Arkansas County, according to a preliminary report.

Jeremy Tilson of Helena-West Helena was a passenger in a 2008 Cadillac Escalade a deputy saw speeding at 98 mph in a residential zone, according to Arkansas County Chief Deputy Randy Bateman. The deputy got out of his car and the Escalade took off; pursuit speeds neared 100 mph, Bateman said.

Troopers said the Escalade left the road and hit a tree, then continued traveling through brush. The SUV then went airborne and overturned, ejecting Tilson, who was pronounced dead at the scene, the report states.

The driver of the Escalade and three other passengers, all from Helena-West Helena, were injured.

Shirley Bonewits, 82, of Ash Flat died and an 81-yearold man was injured in a one-vehicle wreck Saturday on U.S. 62 3 miles east of Salem.

The wreck took place at 10:20 a.m. when the 1999 Lincoln in which Bonewits was a passenger left the road and hit a fence, according to a preliminary crash report.

In rural Clay County, Robert G. Brewer, 46, of Pocahontas died and a 59-year-old man was injured about 10 a.m. Friday when a 1999 GMC Sonoma that Brewer drove west on U.S. 67 crossed the centerline and hit the trailer of a tractor-trailer headed east.

Two Memphis women died in a crash on Interstate 40 in rural St. Francis County on Saturday, troopers said.

The crash happened about 9 a.m. as Barbara Watts, 69, and Diana Farr, 63, drove west on I-40 near Arkansas 38, according to a preliminary report by the state police. Their vehicle, a Nissan Altima, was traveling in the left lane and slowed down, the report states, and was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer.

Troopers said the car left the road and came to rest in the median.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 48-year-old Waco, Texas, man, was injured in the crash. He was taken to Forrest City Medical Center for treatment and was later released, according to a hospital spokesman.

Troopers have released the names of two people killed in a fiery wreck Sept. 16 on Interstate 40 near London in Pope County.

Mary D. Masi, 59, of Soddy Daisy, Tenn., and Donald C. Swofford, 59, of Waynesboro, Tenn. were, in a tractor-trailer hitting four others parked in the outside westbound lane of the interstate because of a previous accident, a preliminary report states.

The trailer of the vehicle driven by Masi detached and it caught fire, along with another vehicle.

The driver of one of the other commercial vehicles, a 56-year-old man, was injured.