Springfield man dies in accident at Highway 43 exit

A Springfield man died of injuries suffered in a two-vehicle accident at 12:15 a.m. Friday on Highway 43 at the interchange with Interstate 44, according to Joplin police.

Walter R. Arbuckle, 56, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident by the Newton County coroner, police said.

Arbuckle was driving an eastbound vehicle and left I-44, crossed both southbound lanes of Highway 43, and collided with a northbound tractor-trailer rig driven by Don K. McDonald, 55, of Amarillo, Texas, police said. Neither McDonald nor his passenger, Brenda McDonald, were injured in the accident, police said.

n Both drivers were injured in a two-vehicle accident at 4 p.m. Thursday on U.S. Highway 71, seven miles south of Pineville in McDonald County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Jennifer S. Callahan, 26, of Neosho, was taken by ambulance to Freeman Hospital West in Joplin, the state patrol said. Ashley L. Wellesley, 20, of Pineville, was taken by ambulance to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rogers, Ark., the patrol said.

Wellesley was westbound and attempting to cross the highway when her vehicle collided with Callahan’s northbound car, the patrol said.

n Two Noel teenagers suffered minor injuries in a single-vehicle accident at 2:40 a.m. Friday on Pack Road, three miles southwest of Noel in McDonald County, the state patrol said.

The driver of the vehicle, Wayne A. Niffen, 19, was taken to Grove (Okla.) General Hospital, the patrol said. His passenger, Jonathon E. Johnston, 13, was taken to Ozark Community Hospital in Gravette, Ark., the patrol said.

Their westbound vehicle skidded off the roadway and overturned while Niffen was attempting to make a turn, the patrol said.