Official Fort Smith Police file map showing the I-540 and Zero Street area. This is a location-reference image from an earlier traffic alert and does not show Thursday's crash scene. Image: City of Fort Smith / Fort Smith Police Department.
Hey Fort Smith — this is a major update to the I-540 traffic alert we posted earlier this afternoon.
One driver is now confirmed dead and two other people were injured in the crash on Interstate 540 in Fort Smith.
Police told 40/29 News the driver who died had entered the interstate traveling the wrong way before colliding with another vehicle.
Earlier Thursday, the Arkansas Department of Transportation was reporting crashes affecting traffic around Exit 10 near Phoenix Avenue and Old Greenwood Road and the nearby Zero Street stretch.
At that point, the public information available only confirmed at least one injury.
That has now changed substantially.
This isn't just a rush-hour backup anymore.
It's a fatal crash investigation.
What police have confirmed so far is pretty straightforward.
One driver died.
Two other people were injured.
Police say the driver who died entered I-540 going the wrong direction before hitting another vehicle.
Beyond that, there are still details we do not have confirmed publicly.
The identity of the person who died has not been included in the information available to us.
The conditions of the two injured people haven't been clearly established in the reporting we can verify.
And there is no reason to guess whether impairment, distraction, a medical issue, confusion at an interchange or something else caused the driver to enter the interstate the wrong way.
That will be for investigators to determine.
The crash happened in a part of I-540 that will probably get another look once investigators finish their work.
Exit 10 serves Old Greenwood Road and Phoenix Avenue.
Exit 11 serves Zero Street.
Those exits sit close together on the south Fort Smith portion of I-540.
There's also some relevant history in this area.
An older Arkansas Department of Transportation wrong-way crash study documented a separate incident years ago in which a driver entered I-540 at Exit 10 near AR 45 and Phoenix Avenue and traveled northbound in the southbound lanes before a head-on collision.
That older crash is not Thursday's wreck.
And it does not prove there's a road-design problem responsible for what happened Thursday.
In fact, ARDOT's review of the earlier crash said pavement markings and signs at the interchange were in place and met applicable requirements at that time.
But after another serious wrong-way collision in essentially the same part of I-540, one thing worth watching is whether ARDOT or Fort Smith officials decide the interchange deserves another review.
That's a question for later.
Right now, somebody died.
If you're driving through there tonight, check the road before assuming the earlier backup is gone.
The traffic situation has changed repeatedly throughout the afternoon, and serious crash scenes can reopen lane-by-lane rather than all at once.
The best live source for the roadway itself is IDrive Arkansas, which provides current incidents, lane impacts and highway cameras through ARDOT.
So if you're heading through I-540 around Phoenix, Old Greenwood or Zero Street tonight, check the live map instead of relying on somebody's traffic screenshot from two hours ago.
And if emergency crews are still on scene, don't slow down just to stare at the wreck.
Secondary crashes happen when everybody starts watching the accident instead of the car in front of them.
And don't turn a fatal crash into Facebook detective work.
There will probably be comments tonight claiming somebody was drunk, elderly, confused, fleeing police, using a phone or intentionally driving the wrong way.
None of that is established by the information currently available.
Police have confirmed the wrong-way movement.
That is not the same thing as confirming why it happened.
The responsible thing is to wait for accident investigators to establish the sequence and cause instead of filling the gaps with whatever somebody says they heard from somebody else's cousin.
The same goes for the people involved.
Until authorities release identities appropriately and families have been notified, there is no public-service value in trying to identify people from vehicle descriptions or pictures from the scene.
The bigger local questions come after investigators finish.
Where exactly did the driver enter I-540?
Was it Exit 10, Exit 11 or another ramp?
Were the wrong-way and do-not-enter signs visible and functioning as intended?
Was the driver already going the wrong direction before reaching this area?
And does ARDOT believe anything about the interchange should be changed?
Wrong-way crashes are relatively uncommon, but when they happen on an interstate they can be devastating because two vehicles may meet head-on at highway speeds.
Those answers matter.
But they need evidence first.
Hey Fort Smith — here's where the story stands now.
The I-540 wreck we warned about earlier has become a fatal crash investigation.
Police say the driver who died had entered the interstate going the wrong way before colliding with another vehicle.
Two other people were injured.
The crash affected the area around the Phoenix Avenue, Old Greenwood Road and Zero Street exits during Thursday's evening commute.
If you're driving through south Fort Smith tonight, check IDrive Arkansas for the actual current lane situation before heading that direction.
And if you see rumors explaining why the driver was going the wrong direction, treat them as rumors unless Fort Smith Police, Arkansas State Police or another investigating agency confirms them.
There's a family getting a terrible phone call tonight.
The facts can wait until investigators know them.
Community takeaway: One driver died and two other people were injured in Thursday's I-540 crash in Fort Smith. Police say the driver who died entered the interstate traveling in the wrong direction before colliding with another vehicle. The cause of the wrong-way movement has not been established publicly. Drivers heading through the Phoenix Avenue, Old Greenwood Road and Zero Street area should check IDrive Arkansas for current traffic conditions.
Fort Smith Community Hub
Keeping our community connected, one story at a time.
📍 Fort Smith, Arkansas · 479 · iam479.com.
Sources: 40/29 News — driver killed and two injured in Fort Smith I-540 wrong-way crash · 5NEWS — initial I-540 crash and traffic report near Zero Street · ARDOT — IDrive Arkansas live traveler information
Comments
Post a Comment