Driver Dead After Striking Utility Pole

New this morning... One man is dead after a late night accident in a Fayetteville neighborhood.

[Kathy]

My husband was the 2nd neighbor on the scene, it was horrible. He said that he doesn’t think that he suffered any. Our hearts and prayers go out to the young man’s family.

[sunbeauty]

We are in prayer for the University of Arkansas Law School community especially for close friends and family.

[allison]

i think it is rediculious that it seems all the police cares about is if there is if alcohol is involved that is not really somthing that needs to be announced when someone is in a deadly or death accident you can be laying there pain and suffering and all the police is worried about is issueing a DUI

[Citizen]

I agree, he was a good man. I knew him personally and I was very shocked to hear this news. Overall, he had alot of good things going for him and he was a great person. He will be greatly missed.

[Concerned Citizen]

I am saddened by the news, but if alcohol was involved it needs to be known. If even one person thinks about this promising young mans death before they get behind the wheel after a night of drinking then that is one life that could be saved. What if hit a family of four? If he was drinking it doesnt make him a bad person, we have all made bad choses in life but have been lucky to learn from them. My prayers are with his family.

[Brenten Stevens]


I was the 2nd person on the seen last night .I was walking the dogs in our yard and all of a sudden Boom and lots of noise followed by huge Electric flashes .I ran into the house told my wife to dial 911 there has been a bad wreck . I grabbed my hip pouch flashlight keys hopped into the truck and drove 5 houses down quickly .This was a time of around 2 minutes .When I got there a neighbor was talking to the police on his cell it was pitch black with power lines setting the trees on fire . I was the first to check on the young man and the stereo was playing loudly .I checked where the power lines were and if they might fall before I entered the cab of the car . I asked the neighbor to hand me his cell to speak to the Police .The lady was asking questions and I stopped her and says I need to shut off the radio it is way loud . I got on my hands and knees and crawled into the front seat area the car was upside down and with the officer on the phone finally found the off switch .Turned it off and the officer than says is he breathing . I checked his pulse and nothing . He was not with us at that point the had passed away . I will nor elaborate on the horror of what I saw in the cab area but the young man certainly passed away instantly . Any details of this I will only discuss with a family member face to face . He did not suffer it was a quick passing . I backed out of the car and was explaining the situation to the officer on the phone and a officer finally made it on the seen about 4 minutes later screaming for me to get away from the car he was scared to death we would be electrocuted by the downed lines . The young man car cut the electric pole in half and I believe that point of impact got him . I could see by the way this young man was dressed and the manner of strewn items he was obviously a quality citizen . I broke my heart to see such a mess and the manner of the accident on a wet road with deep ditches that have claimed many cars over the many years . I feel the ditch was a huge factor in loosing control of the car the way he did . One thing caught my eye was a officer studying a street repair sign he did hit .That sign stated road closed detour with a arrow sign .They had been cleaning the deep ditches along the same road and left that sign there .It may well have been he spotted the sign and many many cones along the road slammed on the breaks and lost it completely . Problem the road was not closed at all they did not remove the little signs . I have video taped the entire seen early this morning and still photos of the seen and the signs in place right in the path his car took .What I need it to contact the family to give them these photos . I stayed at the scene a good while and left to call a buddy to talk out what I witnessed . At around 1:15 the power lines started to arc brightly again and eventually after 4 huge arcs lost power till almost 6am . I am so sorry for the family and friends of this young man and can say I did not see any alcohol on the seen nor did the young man smell of any alcohol either . This seems to be a pure accident and my heart goes out to all his family and friends . Know he was not alone last night and his passing was quick .God bless all
Brenten Stevens
My email if you need to contact me is [e-mail] Please have the family contact me !

[Citizen Fort Smith]

This is so very sad. There was another deadly accident in Van Buren on Wednesday afternoon that involved one death. I knew the man that died & it was such a shock to hear. I know things like this happen all the time but when it happens to someone you know it is different. Unfortunately things like this do happen. My heart goes out to this family who lost this individual. Seems as if there are way too many car accidents nowadays, you just never know. When someone passes it seems as if time stands still. You have to move on but it's like the clock stops. Again, my apologies to these families for losing their loved ones so tragically.

[Citizen]

It is disgusting to me that the police keep saying they are investigating alcohol and drugs when the roads are slick during wet weather here in Fayetteville. It is unsafe and appropriate measures should be taken to prevent tragedies such as this. Police should stop making assumptions that drugs or alcohol is involved and reporting that to media when you can't say it's true.