Wrong-way driver slams into fleet of motorcyclists, killing 3 from Louisiana, cops say
.jpg "A nearby driver told news outlets there was an explosion when the truck hit the motorcycles.")
Three motorcyclists were killed and six people were injured after a pickup truck driving the wrong way on an Arkansas interstate plowed into a biker group on May 12, police said.
The group of motorcyclists, mostly from Louisiana, were riding west just after 6 p.m. on Interstate 40 in Arkansas near Mulberry, according to a preliminary summary of the crash from the Arkansas State Police.
Up ahead, a pickup truck was coming toward the group on the wrong side of the highway, the release said.
When the truck collided with the motorcyclists, Adam Walker, a driver behind the fleet of bikers, said that there was an immediate explosion, 5NEWS reported. Walker and his girlfriend swerved into a ditch to avoid the crash, he told the news outlet.
Footage of the crash’s aftermath shows billowing smoke and flames smoldering from multiple vehicles.
Authorities reported that 46-year-old Leonard Lemar Jr. and his passenger, 44-year-old Patricia Lemar, from Slidell, Louisiana, and 50-year-old Malinda Shano from Terryton, Louisiana, were killed during the crash.
Six other people were injured, according to the release.
The driver of the pickup truck also was injured in the crash, according to police.
Police haven’t disclosed why the truck may have driven into oncoming traffic. The roads were dry and the weather was clear, according to police.
No charges were mentioned in the police report.
Mulberry is about 136 miles northwest of Little Rock.
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Wrong-way driver slams into fleet of motorcyclists, killing 3 from Louisiana, cops say."
