Authorities have identified the man who died in a three-vehicle accident early Tuesday morning on Interstate 30.
Cpl. Mark Batson of Arkansas State Police said Wednesday morning that 51-year-old Michael Reynolds, of Little Rock, drove his Lexus east in the westbound lane of traffic of I-30, colliding with one 18-wheeler before crashing into another at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Batson said police came to the conclusion Tuesday afternoon after the body was sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy and identification.
Reynolds collided with one 18-wheeler, causing it to cross the median and turn over on its side in the ditch across the highway, before his car collided with an 18-wheeler less than one-half mile east of the 78 milemarker off-ramp, ending up in a ditch adjacent to Frost Road. He was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no other passengers in the car and no other injuries reported.
“All indications are that he was traveling the wrong way on the interstate — why he was doing that, we have no idea,” Batson said. “His family has been interviewed, and they had no idea why he would have been in the Arkadelphia area.”
Batson said blood samples were taken from Reynolds and the drivers of the 18-wheelers, and those results are pending.