8 vehicles involved in fatal crash along I-40

Authorities said they are investigating an eight-vehicle crash Wednesday on Interstate 40 near Atkins in which one person died and four people were injured.

Arkansas State Police said a Peterbilt tractor-trailer was eastbound around 4:20 p.m. on Interstate 40 when it struck a Chevrolet of an unlisted model from behind. The Chevrolet caught fire, and the driver died. She remained unidentified Friday.

The tractor-trailer continued on and struck a Dodge Ram, causing it to go off the road, according to a crash summary. The tractor-trailer then hit a Hyundai Sonata in the side and sent it into the back of a Toyota 4Runner.

The 4Runner hit the rear driver’s side of a Honda Pilot and then a Kia Soul, sending the Soul off the road, according to state police. The Honda Pilot hit a Toyota Camry from behind.

Pope County Coroner Danny White said the Chevrolet driver had not been identified as of Friday because of the fire and because no license or ID cards were found.

White said the state medical examiner will use DNA to identify her. He added that it may be impossible to tell if the immediate cause of death was the fire or something else, such as the impact of the crash.

The drivers of the 4Runner, the Sonata, the Ram and the Soul were all injured.

Weather conditions at the time were clear, according to state police, but traffic was slowed. Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said the slowdown was caused by road maintenance work.