September 19, 2024
CASH, Ark. — On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, Arkansas State Police (ASP) arrested Charles Benham, 55, of Alicia, in connection to a 16-vehicle pileup that killed two people and injured six more in Jackson County on October 3, 2023. Benham has been charged with felony Reckless Burning. He was transported to the Jackson County Detention Center.
Smoke from nearby burning fields caused low visibility on Highway 67-167, blinding drivers and resulting in the pileup. Thomas Blevins, 68, of Logan, Ohio, and Terry Lutz, 55, of Somerset, Ohio, died in the crash.
The vehicles involved in the accident were traveling north at the 99-mile marker when smoke covered all four lanes. As vehicles began to enter the smoke, a chain reaction crash occurred.
