MILLER COUNTY (KFSM) — Three people died Monday night (Dec. 21) in what State Troopers initially believe were two chain-reaction collision scenes along the north and southbound lanes of I-49 nine miles south of Texarkana, according to Arkansas State Police.
Police said at least seven people were injured and transported from the scenes by ambulance to area hospitals.
The chain reaction collisions began to occur about 11:45 p.m. and State Troopers said dense fog was present in the area at the time which may prove to be a contributing factor in the collisions.
According to troopers, the first collision happened when a southbound commercial carrier truck slowed and was struck from behind by vehicle traffic. A total of ten vehicles were involved in the chain-reaction collisions along the southbound lanes.
About the same time as the first southbound collision, three commercial carrier trucks collided in the northbound traffic lanes directly across the highway median from the southbound crash scene. Police said one of the trucks was transporting a large amount of glue that spilled from the containers onto the highway.
If you are traveling for the holidays, detours off both sides of I-49 have been established and traffic is traveling a short distance along U.S. Highway 71 as the investigation continues and clean-up operations are underway, according to police.
