Motorcycle wrecks in South Arkansas fatal for 2 -

Malvern man fleeing from police dies in Hot Springs crash

A Malvern man leading authorities across a county line in a high-speed chase suffered mortal injuries when the pursuit came to an end in Hot Springs.

Dakota Shawn Dillon, 19, of Malvern, was traveling west on U.S. Highway 270 “at a high rate of speed,” according to a preliminary fatal crash summary.

Dillon was reportedly attempting to evade officers with the Rockport Police Department when he failed to stop at a traffic signal at the Malvern Avenue/MLK Expressway overpass. Dillon struck the driver’s side of a 2020 Volvo tractor-trailer that was exiting U.S. 70 onto 270.

The wreck happened at 10:04 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, under cloudy skies and on dry roads, according to Officer John Albright of the Hot Springs Police Department.

Hope crash claims life of motorcyclist

A Hope motorcyclist died late Sunday evening in Hempstead County

According to a preliminary fatal crash summary report, Trenton M. Gress, 52, of Hope, was traveling north on a 2006 Honda motorcycle on Hempstead County Road 21. Gress failed to stop at the road’s intersection with U.S. Highway 278, and struck an eastbound 2007 Ford traveling on the latter highway.

Gress’ body was transported to the Hempstead County Morgue.

The accident happened at 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, under clear skies and on clear roads, according to investigating Trooper Antonio May.

Editor’s Note: Preliminary Arkansas State Police fatality reports sometimes contain information that turns out to be inaccurate. Typical errors include spelling errors in names, or incorrect ages; outdated hometown information; vehicle direction of travel; and incident times. The ASP sometimes corrects these errors in updated reports. ASP reports omit names of passengers or drivers who are not injured, even in instances when uninjured drivers may appear to be at fault. The reports also omit names of juveniles who were injured or killed, although we report those names when obtained through other sources.