LITTLE ROCK, AR – There have been four deaths after three separate traffic accidents in Arkansas.
Each of the crashes happened in the early morning hours on Thursday.
In Pope County at 4:50 a.m., a 2003 Ford Explorer headed west on Interstate 40 went off the road between Russellville and Pottsville during a rain storm. The vehicle struck a culvert and the driver was ejected, according to the Arkansas State Police (ASP) accident report.
The victim is identified as Monica Lenhart, 31, of Atkins.
Also at 4:50 a.m. but in Fulton County, a 1994 Dodge Ram pickup headed east on U.S. Hwy. 62 a half-mile west of Salem, went off the road in rainy conditions. The ASP report states that the driver lost control and then crossed the highway before coming to a stop in a westbound ditch.
The victim is identified as Luke Allen Gessner, 23, of Mountain Home.
In Union County, at 6:25 a.m., a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer headed east crossed the center line on U.S. Hwy. 82 at Urbana Road and struck the left front of a 2001 Chevy Suburban, according to the ASP.
The accident report identifies the Trailblazer driver who died at the scene as Jason D. Hogue, 25, of El Dorado.
The driver of the Suburban is identified as Eric M. Abeyta, 26, of Smackover. According to a Facebook prayers page created for him after the accident, Abeyta, who had been hospitalized, died this morning.
Conditions were clear and dry at the time of the accident.