Charles Smith Obituary, Third fatality victim from Wednesday identified
Arkansas State Police on Thursday identified a man who was killed in a fatal collision on Thornton Ferry Road Wednesday morning, one of three separate fatal collisions that occurred Wednesday on Garland County roadways.
Charles Smith, 53, of Hot Springs, died in a fatal two-vehicle collision on Thornton Ferry Road shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to an Arkansas Department of Public Safety report released Thursday afternoon.
Smith, operating a 2016 Dycon scooter, was traveling on Thornton Ferry near Big Duke Trail when an oncoming 2021 Hyundai Elantra reportedly crossed the centerline and struck his scooter, causing him to be ejected, the report said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Garland County coroner. The wreck was investigated by Arkansas State Police.
Three people died on area roadways Wednesday in three separate collisions, two of which occurred just two hours apart, according to Arkansas State Police and the Hot Springs Police Department.
The first collision occurred around 7 a.m. in the 2800 block of Malvern Avenue as Andrew Beal, 21, driving a 1994 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, was eastbound in the left lane on Malvern and attempted to turn left into the Lakeside School Administration Building driveway, pulling into the path of a westbound Harley-Davidson driven by Donald Wrublesky, 47, of Hot Springs, who then collided with the truck, Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class Omar Cervantes said.
The left front of the truck struck the left side of the motorcycle which then left the roadway to the right, struck a curb and then a utility pole. Wrublesky was injured and transported to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs where he later died, Cervantes said.
The second fatality collision occurred shortly before 9 a.m. on Thornton Ferry Road at the Big Duke Trail intersection when a Hyundai Elantra reportedly crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a person operating a motorized scooter, an Arkansas State Police trooper told a reporter at the scene.
Garland County Sheriff’s Department and Piney Fire Department also responded to the scene of the wreck, which had blocked the roadway. The make or model of the scooter was not released. The cause of the collision was under investigation and the names of those involved had not been released.
The third fatality wreck occurred at 2:57 p.m. on Airport Road (Highway 70) at South Danna Road.
Martin Price, 71, of Hot Springs, was eastbound on Airport Road in a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado when he traveled off the roadway to the right near South Danna Road and struck a parked car in the parking lot of 1525 Airport Road, according to an Arkansas Department of Public Safety report posted Wednesday night.
After the impact, the truck struck the north side of Lake Hamilton Animal Hospital, where it came to rest partially inside.
Sammie Yandell Jr., 54, of Hot Springs, a passenger in the truck was listed as injured on the report.
The wreck was investigated by Arkansas State Police.
