A 73-year-old Montgomery County man is dead after a one-vehicle accident that occurred Saturday afternoon in Mount Ida, according to the Arkansas State Police.
Information taken from an ASP preliminary accident report says that Bruce Wayne Payte , of Mt. Ida was driving a 1995 white Dodge Dakota and was traveling west on US Highway 270 East near the intersection with Sunrise Hills Drive.
At 3:48 p.m. Payte lost control of the vehicle, which exited the roadway to the right and struck a tree on the north side of the highway.
Payte was transported to St. Vincent Hospital in Hot Springs by Southwest EMS but was pronounced deceased by Dr Kenneth Williams after his arrival.
Corporal Zechariah Whitney of the Arkansas State Police investigated the accident and noted clear weather conditions in a dry roadway at the time of the fatal accident.
The death of Payte represents the 503rd fatality across 451 accidents for 2024.
