Collision Between School Van, Truck in Arkansas Leaves Five Dead

Five people died and five more were injured after a collision between a heavy truck and a van serving a school for disabled adults in southeast Arkansas on June 6.

The Arkansas State Police reported that the driver of the 15-passenger van on U.S. 65 in Chicot County failed to yield to an oncoming truck that hauled cooking oil.

Bill Sadler, spokesman for the ASP, told The Associated Press that the van belonged to C.B. King Memorial School, which serves people with developmental delays or disabilities.

In a statement released after the accident, the school’s director of programs, Lori Medina, stated: “Our C.B. King family is hurting tonight. We don’t have the words now to express our pain. The Adult Center in Arkansas City will be closed for now as we process what has happened.”

This is Geraldine Prewitt, 73.
She is one of five who were killed Monday in the C.B King school bus crash.
Dermott City Council Member, Chris Akins, says everyone called her “Lil Bit” and she was loved by the whole community. pic.twitter.com/dWQZsduan3

— Hunter Hoagland (@HunterHoagland) June 7, 2022

Both drivers were injured. Those killed in the crash ranged in age from 19 to 73, state police reported. The victims, according to KARK.com, included:

• Brayshawn Ranson, 19.
• Tommy Figures, 50.
• Terry King, 56.
• Regina Jackson, 65.
• Geraldine Prewitt, 73.

The wreck remains under investigation, Sadler said.