Victim in crash on I-40 bridge still unknown

ASP spokesman says other vehicles involved were secondary accidents

Arkansas State Police have still not been able to positively identify the person who was killed in a fiery crash over a week ago on Interstate 40 near Forrest City.

Troop D, headquartered in Forrest City, is continuing to investigate the accident that occurred Monday afternoon, Aug. 22, on the St. Francis River Bridge between the Forrest City and Widener exits on I-40.

The crash forced the closure of the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-40 for several hours on Monday. The westbound lanes were reopened Monday night, with the eastbound lanes remaining closed until Tuesday afternoon.

The accident caused damage to the bridge, which was patched Tuesday morning to allow traffic to resume on I-40. However, the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department closed eastbound lanes overnight last Tuesday to make permanent repairs to the bridge.

State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said the preliminary fatality crash report, which will eventually be posted on the agency’s website, could be “weeks in the making” due to the severity of the crash.

Sadler said reports on secondary crashes that occurred after the initial accident have been completed.

“Fatality reports can take much longer,” said Sadler. “They’re trying to get a positive ID on the victim and the crime lab is having some difficulties with that. Once that’s done, we’ll notify the next of kin.”

Sadler said “nothing has changed” with the accident and “it was a multiple vehicle crash involving one fatality.

“The secondary crashes that occurred were people who weren’t paying attention and those had minor damages. More than a dozen vehicles sustained damage, but mostly from secondary crashes,” said Sadler.

Sadler said the two vehicles involved in the initial crash were a dump truck and a tanker truck. “The secondary crashes occurred seconds after the initial crash,” he said.

“What’s happening right now is the dynamics of the crash still have to be verified to pinpoint exactly where a vehicle was when impacted by a second vehicle and more importantly identifying the fatality victim,” added Sadler.

Katie West • Times-Herald Marlene Gwathney looks over entry information at the St. Francis County Fair Exhibit Hall. Gwathney was one of many volunteers accepting entries this morning in numerous categories that were being judged today. The SFC Fair is continuing through Saturday at the Wiley T. Jones Fairgrounds.