3 die in Southwest Arkansas collisions

Separate vehicle crashes in Southwest Arkansas in recent days have left three people dead.

The first reported fatality happened early Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in rural Sevier County.

According to an Arkansas State Police preliminary fatal crash summary, Otis Henson, 80, of Nashville, was traveling south on U.S. Highway 71 in a 2008 Audi when he struck the rear of a 2023 Kenworth that was stopped in the center turn lane. Henson died as a result of the crash.

Investigating State Trooper Micah Brown noted clear skies and dry roads at the time of the collision, which was at 6:12 a.m. Henson’s body was transported to Wilkerson Funeral Home.

That same morning, in rural Clark County, a Central Arkansas man lost control of an ATV near Amity Landing. CLICK HERE to read the story, published earlier this week at arkadelphian.com.

A third fatality occurred Wednesday afternoon in rural Montgomery County. A report says that 63-year-old Jeffery Wilkerson, of Caddo Gap, was traveling eastbound on Arkansas Highway 8 in a 2010 Hyundai Elantra when and he veered off the roadway and struck an embankment, causing the vehicle to overturn.

Wilkerson died in the crash. His body was transported to Smith Family Funeral Home in Glenwood.

Cpl. Michael Summitt noted cloudy skies and dry roads at the time of Wilkerson’s collision, 3:03 p.m.

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 Typical errors include spelling errors in names, or incorrect ages; outdated hometown information; vehicle direction of travel; and incident times.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.