A preliminary report from the Arkansas State Police said a fatal accident near Rison Tuesday occurred in a no-passing zone.
Logan G. Prescott, 17, was pronounced dead at the scene by Cleveland County Coroner Darren Kea after the two-vehicle accident on Arkansas Highway 133 in Rison at 4:50 p.m.
Prescott was a passenger in a 1997 Honda Civic driven by Joshua R. Cook, 17, of Rison that was southbound on the highway and attempted to pass another vehicle on a hilltop, which is a no-passing zone, Trooper First Class Byron Curry reported.
The car driven by Cook collided head-on with a 1964 Plymouth Valiant driven by Lee R. Applegarth, 63, of Poyen that was northbound, sending both cars into a ditch.
Applegarth and Cook were both taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center at Pine Bluff while another passenger in Cook’s car, 17-year-old Justin L. Ross of Rison, was airlifted to Baptist Hospital at Little Rock.
Curry reported that none of the victims of the accident were wearing seat belts.
All three of the boys in Cook’s car were students at Rison High School and members of the football team. The conditions of the injured victims were not available Wednesday evening.
Prescott’s death was the 323rd recorded on the state’s highways this year.
Funeral services for Prescott are scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at Bethel No. 1 Missionary Baptist Church. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Rison. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at the Buie Funeral Home and Crematory of Rison.
Arkansas law states that drivers under the age of 18 may have only one non-related passenger under the age of 18 in the vehicle with them at any time. More than that requires the presence of a person over the age of 18 in the vehicle in the right front passenger seat.
Jefferson County District Judge Kim Bridgforth said Wednesday that the law was based on studies by the National Highway Safety and Transportation Administration indicating that young drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents if there are a number of passengers in a vehicle, and the accidents are more likely to be serious.