Earle man killed in crash

Pair of fatal accidents claim two lives on Friday

By Ralph Hardin

news@theeveningtimes.com

Two people died in two wrecks on Arkansas roads on Friday, according to preliminary reports from law enforcement, including a Crittenden couny man.

Darius Hurst, 28, of Earle was killed in a single-vehicle accident in rural Crittenden County east of Marion, according to a state police report.

Hurst was headed east on U.S. 64 at 2:16 p.m. when he lost control of the 2002 Chevrolet he was driving and it left the roadway, rolling over, according to the report.

Ain the second fatality of the day, Larry Cox, 34, of Bay was killed when the 2002 Chevrolet he was driving was struck by a train near Brookland, according to a report from the Craighead County sheriff’s office.

At about 5:43 p.m. Friday, Cox drove around other vehicles stopped at a railroad crossing on County Road 928 east of U.S. Highway 49 and attempted to cross between the crossing arms. The report stated that the crossing arms were down, the lights were flashing and the warning bells were ringing at the time of the accident.

The deaths were the 294th and 295th fatalities on Arkansas highways this year, keeping pace with the number of highway deaths from 2023, when the 295th highway death alos occurred on July 19, on U.S. Highway 270 in Grant County. In all, Arkansas saw 565 fatal crashes last year, down from 603 in 2022.

The Arkansas Highway Safety Office and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are currently in the middle of a nationwide antispeeding and safe driving initiative, raising awareness about the dangers of speeding and urging drivers to obey speed limits now through July 31. Arkansas State Troopers, city police and sheriff’s deputies will be issuing tickets as part of the “Speeding Slows You Down” campaign.