Texarkana, AR : Three people killed and seven injured in separate chain-reaction crashes on Interstate 49 in southwest Arkansas on Monday night, December 21, 2015

Three people died Monday night in what State Troopers initially believe were two chain-reaction collision scenes along the north and southbound lanes of I-49 nine miles south of Texarkana.

At least seven people were injured and transported from the scenes by ambulance to Christus Saint Michael Health Care and Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana.

An unknown number individuals reported minor injuries and initially declined hospital care.

Video from the scene of a major crash on an interstate in southwest Arkansas shows wrecks in both northbound and southbound lanes that are separated by a barrier.

Video from television station KSLA shows wrecked tractor-trailers, cars and trucks blocking Interstate 49 at Fouke, 9 miles south of Texarkana.

The station reports that the first wreck happened in the southbound lanes and that the second wreck may have been caused by drivers in the northbound lanes looking at the other crash, but the causes of both crashes remain under investigation.

A total of ten vehicles were involved in the chain-reaction collisions along the southbound lanes.

About the same time as the first southbound collision, three commercial carrier trucks collided in the northbound traffic lanes directly across the highway median from the southbound crash scene.

One of the trucks was transporting a large amount of glue that spilled from the containers onto the highway.

State Troopers said dense fog was present in the area at the time which may prove to be a contributing factor in the collisions.

Yet, The National Weather Service says conditions were clear and dry at the time of the crash, though dense fog has since blanketed the area.

Source :

3 killed, 7 hurt in crashes on I-49 between Shreveport and Texarkana