El Dorado man killed, two others injured in Hwy. 7 wreck

Photo by Jarl Schmidt on Unsplash
Photo by Jarl Schmidt on Unsplash

An El Dorado man was killed Friday afternoon in a wreck that occurred on Arkansas State Highway 7 near the Jet Asphalt & Rock Company office.

According to a fatal crash report by the Arkansas State Police, Eric Stone, 51, of El Dorado was killed in a head-on collision shortly before 10 a.m. Friday.

Injured in the accident were Choisee Green, 35, of Greenville, Arkansas and a female minor who was not identified in the report due to her age.

Green was driving at the time of the wreck, the report says.

According to the ASP report, Stone was traveling south in a 2011 Workhorse cargo truck on Hwy. 7, when, at about 9:59 a.m., he crossed the grassy median separating north- and southbound highway traffic and was subsequently struck head-on by Green’s northbound vehicle, a 2015 Freightliner, which are also vehicles used for carrying cargo.

The Freightliner struck the front passenger side of Stone’s vehicle, causing it to rotate counter-clockwise in the roadway. Stone was eventually ejected from his vehicle, according to the report.

The Freightliner came to rest facing north in the northbound lane of Hwy. 7 and Stone’s Workhorse came to rest facing south.

Weather and road conditions were reportedly cloudy and dry at the time of the accident. Deputies from the Union County Sheriff’s Office could be seen Friday morning blocking off a section of Hwy. 7 and assisting the ASP with redirecting traffic.

The two who were injured were transported to the Medical Center of South Arkansas for treatment.

This was the 290th fatal accident to occur so far this year on an Arkansas highway, and Stone was the 324th person killed in such an accident this year.

Several other local residents have lost their lives on the road this year.

Last month, on June 18, Jeremy Vines, 42, of El Dorado was killed in a single-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Mount Holly and Agnes roads.

Stephanie Deeanna Moon, who was an English teacher at El Dorado High School, was killed in a single-vehicle wreck on May 30.

Eduardo Arias Santana, 34, of El Dorado was killed on April 3 in an accident on Highway 70 in Saline County.

On March 27, Joanna McJunkin, 35, of McRae was killed in an accident and El Dorado’s Shawn Strickland, 25, later died as a result of injuries he sustained in the wreck as well.

Local cardiologist Dr. Aldo Fonticiella, 63, was killed in an accident on Highway 82 on February 7.

On January 8, William J. Bradley, 21, of Hampton and Eric C. White, 44, of West Monroe, were killed in an accident on the Calion River Bridge, according to previous News-Times reporting.

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