Three Dead In Traffic Accidents
Last updated Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:21 AM CST in News
By Hicham Raache
Southwest Times Record
Icy conditions caused havoc on a local stretch of Interstate Monday night, causing several crashes and multiple deaths.
Three people were killed in collisions on Interstate 540, but it is not known if one of the deaths in which a man fell from an icy bridge is the result of an accident, according to Bill Sadler, public information officer for the Arkansas State Police.
State Police were alerted at around 10:30 p.m. Monday that several vehicle crashes were happening on the northbound lane of I-540, north of Mountainburg, according to Sadler.
"In the hour prior to the initial report, weather conditions in the area had deteriorated with light rain, heavy mist and temperatures near freezing," Sadler stated in an e-mail to the Times Record.
At the 39-mile marker of I-540, troopers responded to three crashes involving six vehicles. Witnesses told police that they saw man, who was described as a 22-year-old, but not identified, exit his vehicle immediately after one of the initial crashes and jump over a bridge railing to avoid being hit by oncoming traffic. The man fell 400 feet and sustained injuries that are believed to have caused his death, according to Sadler. The man's identity was not released.
A little over an hour later, troopers were in the process of clearing the northbound lanes, when a second series of crashes occurred 13 miles away in the southbound lanes of 540, south of the Bobby Hopper Tunnel. During those crashes, another man fell over a bridge railing and was killed. However, Sadler said in an interview, it is not known if the man was ejected from his vehicle and went over the bridge, was hit by a vehicle and knocked over the bridge or jumped from the bridge to avoid being struck. In a fatal accident report, the man was identified as Theron A. Watson Jr., 27, of Fort Smith.
"It's believed as many as nine crashes involving 15 vehicles occurred at the second location, causing both north and south lanes of traffic to come to a halt," Sadler stated in the e-mail.
A second fatality occurred during the second sequence of collisions. Phillip Rothlisberger, 56, of Mountainburg was traveling north on I-540 in his 1997 Chevrolet pickup when he crossed an ice-covered bridge and struck a vehicle involved in another accident. Rothlisberger was ejected from his pickup and was later pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing his seat belt, according to a fatal accident report.
State troopers are attempting to determine if the crashes involved "one-on-one" collisions or a chain-reaction of crashes, Sadler said.
Northbound traffic on I-540 was not reopened until shortly before 5:30 a.m. and southbound until 7 a.m., according to Sadler.
Reader Comments (7 comment(s))
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baum hog wrote on Jan 7, 2009 7:45 PM:
NWAHOGALUM wrote on Jan 8, 2009 7:44 AM:
riptide wrote on Jan 8, 2009 7:50 AM:
UAfootball wrote on Jan 8, 2009 8:34 AM:
riverok wrote on Jan 8, 2009 9:16 AM:
Signs warn that bridges become icy in cold weather. Why place all the blame on the highway crews?
Riverok "
BCR wrote on Jan 8, 2009 9:30 AM:
Not already registered?
BCR wrote on Jan 7, 2009 4:31 PM: