The trailer of an eighteen-wheeler crashed into the rear of an Arkansas State Trooper’s vehicle Wednesday morning. The crash happened on I-40 East after the carrier jackknifed. According to reports, the trailer hit the back of the trooper’s vehicle with him in it.
The Trooper, Sgt. Chuck Lewis was warning travelers with his lights, about a traffic slowdown ahead of his location when the accident took place.
The incident occurred about 9 a.m. along Interstate 40 west of Lonoke.
The cause of the slowdown was an accident about 200 yards ahead of Sgt. Lewis. Traffic was approaching that area at speeds as high as 60mph even though ice was on the highway.
Joe A. Barbosa, 54, of San Antonio, Texas, the driver of a tractor-trailer truck approaching the area, lost control of his vehicle as he began to brake, causing the trailer to jackknife and impact the rear of the patrol car occupied by Sergeant Lewis. The state police patrol car was spun into a tree line north of the interstate.
Barbosa regained control of the truck and trailer and left the scene of the crash, but was later apprehended in the North Little Rock area where he was charged with careless and prohibited driving and leaving the scene of a property damage crash. Barbosa was released and was given a Lonoke County court date to answer the charges.
Lewis did not sustain any serious injuries. Barbosa was not injured.
The first crash that occurred shortly before 9 a.m., along with the crash involving Sergeant Lewis began to cause multiple crashes in a slow chain reaction stretching east of the first crash scene by more than 30 miles.
