GRAVETTE (KFSM) – Two people died on Thursday night (July 16) in a tractor-trailer crash near Gravette, police say.
Police identified the two crash victims as Joe Maldonado, 39, of Springdale and Crystal Johnson, 34, of Gravette.
Maldonado was driving a 2014 Mack tractor-trailer east on AR-72 at 10:18 p.m. Johnson was driving a 2002 Honda Accord in front of the tractor-trailer when Maldonado struck the rear of the Accord, spinning it off the road, police said.
The Accord eventually overturned, and Johnson was ejected from the vehicle, according to a preliminary crash report.
Maldonado went off the road, and the tractor-trailer jack-knifed and struck some trees, police said.
The crash is still being investigated.
According to the report, the tractor-trailer is owned by J.B. Hunt Transport.