Two separate traffic accidents in the region have recently taken the lives of a northwest Louisiana driver and a south Arkansas pedestrian.
According to a Louisiana State Police Troop G news release, the agency at approximately 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 8, responded to a single-car crash along LA 2, roughly one mile west of LA 534, that claimed the life of a Homer man.
“The preliminary investigation revealed a 2013 Dodge Charger driven by 57-year-old Dennis C. Webb was traveling east on LA 2 at a high rate of speed,” the report said. “The vehicle left the road and began to rotate before hitting a tree. Webb was not wearing a seat belt and sustained fatal injuries in the crash. He was pronounced dead on scene by the Bienville Parish Coroner’s office.”
Excessive speed and lack of seat belt usage were suspected factors in the crash, the agency said. Toxicology samples were also taken and submitted for analysis as the crash remains under investigation.
“Louisiana State Troopers wish to remind motorists that always wearing a seat belt, avoiding all distractions, obeying the posted speed limit, avoiding fatigued driving, and not driving while impaired can often mean the difference between life and death,” the LSP news release said.
Troop G this year has investigated four fatal northwest Louisiana crashes that resulted in deaths, according to the agency.
In Arkansas, just four days later, a Hampton pedestrian was struck and killed after he reportedly walked into the path of an oncoming vehicle along Hwy. 167 S. in Calhoun County.
According to an Arkansas State Police preliminary fatal crash summary, 53-year-old Willie May Momon of Hampton at 7:50 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, was “walking westbound in the southbound lane of Hwy. 167 and was struck by a 2001 GMC” as it traveled southbound on the highway. The accident occurred inside the Hampton city limits, the report said.
Weather conditions were clear and the road was dry. Arkansas State Police Cpl. Byron Curry was the investigating officer.
This is the 20th road-related fatality reported so far this year in Arkansas. The deceased has been taken Brown Funeral Home in Pine Bluff, according to the crash summary.