Authorities announced that five people were killed and five others injured in southeast Arkansas after a large truck collided with a van belonging to a school serving disabled adults, according to a report by NBC News.
The crash happened on U.S. 65 on Monday afternoon, June 6. Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said in Tuesday's press conference that the 15-passenger van failed to yield when crossing U.S. 65 in rural Chicot County. That resulted in the van colliding with a truck that was hauling cooking oil.
Sadler told reporters that the van belonged to C.B. King Memorial School. According to its website, it is a nonprofit organization that provides services to people with developmental delays or disabilities in several southeastern Arkansas counties.
C.B. King family is hurting following crash
Lora Medina, the school's director of programs, issued a statement on Monday, saying "Our C.B King Family is hurting tonight. We don't have the words right now to express our pain. The Adult Center in Arkansas City will be closed for now as we process what has happened."
According to Arkansas State Police, the vehicular accident happened around 2:45 p.m. when a school van that was traveling westbound on Highway 35 attempted to cross over into the southbound lanes of Highway 65. It was then that the van crashed after failing to yield to an oncoming 18-wheeler Freightliner.
State police said that the five people killed in the collision were ages 19 to 73. According to a report by KARK, the crash claimed the lives of 73-year-old Geraldine Prewitt, 65-year-old Regina Jackson, 56-year-old Terry King, 50-year-old Tommy Figures, and 19-year-old Brayshawn Ranson.
Morning anchor Hunter Hoagland posted a message on social media platform Twitter to pay tribute to Prewitt, the oldest victim in the crash. Dermott City Council Member Chris Akins told Hoagland that Prewitt was loved by the whole community and everyone called her "Lil Bit."
Hoagland added that according to Prewitt's friends, she rarely missed a home game at McGehee High School and could often be heard cheering the loudest. They said that she was the town's biggest fan.
Crash victims taken to various Arkansas hospitals for treatment
Officials added that the drivers of both vehicles were injured, along with three other passengers in the van. The five crash victims were taken to between Chicot Memorial Medical Center, McGehee Hospital, and UAMS in Little Rock for treatment of their injuries.
Sadler said that state police will assign a reconstruction team to try to determine what led to the crash. A police report revealed that the weather conditions at the time of the accident were cloudy, according to KATV.
Sadler did say in his statement that at this juncture in the investigation, it appears that the driver of the van did not see the oncoming traffic. The vehicular crash occurred south of Dermott, which is located about 100 miles southeast of Little Rock in the Mississippi River Delta region.
