July 31, 2025

HOPE, Ark. – A 64-year-old Texarkana man has been charged with Leaving the Scene of a Collision Involving Death, a Class B felony, in connection with the July 21, 2025, death of a road worker.

Arkansas State Police Special Agents identified the suspect as George Willis, 64, of Texarkana, and made arrangements for him to turn himself in at the Hempstead County Detention Center. He was taken into custody at 12:55 p.m. today. His bond has been set at $25,000.

At approximately 1 a.m. on Monday, July 21, 2025, ASP Troopers responded to a fatal hit-and-run collision near the 18-mile marker of I-30. The victim, Jonathan Gary Williams, 44, of Sherwood, was working as an Arkansas Department of Transportation contractor at the time of the incident. Williams was operating from a specialized trailer, applying reflectors to the roadway center line, when he was struck and killed by a 2004 Buick Century. The Buick was disabled at the scene and abandoned. Witnesses said the driver fled on foot.