Two die Monday in car-truck crash near Gentry

GENTRY -- Two Springdale women were killed Monday morning in a crash between an unloaded poultry truck and a sport utility vehicle on Arkansas Highway 59, just north of Peterson Road, near Gentry.

The accident resulted in the closure of the highway and the rerouting of traffic for nearly four hours.

According to a fatal crash summary released by the Arkansas State Police on Monday evening, a northbound 2018 Freightliner driven by Keondrick Banks, 33, of Lincoln, was negotiating a curve in the highway and began to roll over, landing and sliding on a southbound 2013 Honda CR-V occupied by Ana Delia Mejia Flores, 45, the driver, and Flor Maribell Recinos, 38, a passenger, both of Springdale.

The accident occurred at 7 a.m. Traffic was detoured until approximately 11 a.m. Road conditions were reported as clear and dry.

The truck driver was transported to Siloam Springs Regional Hospital.

The accident was investigated by the Arkansas State Police, but local police and emergency workers also responded to the scene of the fatal crash.