The mess on I-40 west near Brinkley is finally cleaned up after Tuesday's fiery crash. The crash involved 8 vehicles, including 6 tractor trailers. Traffic stood at a stand-still for more than 4 hours as crews got people to safety and cleaned up the mess.
Fortunately nobody died in the wreck, but several people were taken to the hospital. One of those taken to the hospital, Mark Rogers, used his Army training to rescue his wife and two young children.
Heavy rains made visibility poor on I-40 in Prairie County. Within minutes 8 vehicles crashed into each other, including 6 semis, stopping traffic on I-40. Christy Bick of Billy's Wrecker Service got to the scene as flames covered several cars.
"One of them was completely burned to the ground. There was nothing left of the tires," said Christy Bick.
In one of those smashed cars was two time Iraqi War Veteran Mark Rogers, his wife, and two young children. They were returning to Austin after visiting family in Illinois.
Mark's aunt, Marcia Fearday, says Mark's military training saved the lives of his wife Linnie, 7-year-old daughter Terra, and 2-year-old son, Houston. "If Mark didn't have the training from the Army, he probably would not have gotten his family out of the car. His training from the army taught him to do the rescue and save his family."
Wednesday, Mark is at Arkansas Children's Hospital's Burn Unit getting treatment for burns to 60 percent of his body. His wife and kids were burned but not as severely as Mark, who Marcia says unselfishly put his family first.
"He automatically busted the windows out of the car and got his family out. Family comes first with him. Mark's a hero because he knew what to do to save his family," said Fearday.
Fearday says Mark is in critical but stable condition. A long recovery is expected but the good news is that the entire family should make a full recovery.
