Authorities identify 2 Arkansas residents killed in wreck on East Texas highway

BOWIE COUNTY, Texas (KSLA) — Two Arkansas residents died when their pickup ran into the rear of a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 30 in East Texas.

The wreck occurred at 4:55 p.m. Sunday, May 29 on Interstate 30 about 16 miles west of New Boston, Texas.

Pronounced dead at the scene were 57-year-old Joseph Raines and 56-year-old Dongmei Raines, both of Benton, Ark., the Texas Department of Public Safety reports.

A 2021 Kenworth was stopped in traffic due to another crash when a 2022 Dodge Ram 1500 being driven by Joseph Raines failed to stop and ran into the back of the big rig’s trailer, authorities said.

The 18-wheeler’s driver, 65-year-old Linda Hardy, of Mena, Ark., and her passenger, 55-year-old Jeffery Hardy, also of Mena, were not injured.