A 14-year-old Blytheville girl was struck by a vehicle on Airbase Highway in Gosnell at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. She later died at LeBonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis.
Lakota Eldridge of 139 S. Crescent in Blytheville had apparently walked from a residence on the Arkansas Aeroplex across the five-lane highway to the Sonic Drive-In, said Gosnell Police Chief Bobby Trump.
"On her way back across the road, the girl walked in front of a 2006 Chevy pickup and was struck," Trump said.
The driver of the truck had just turned onto Airbase Highway from Bevill Street, Trump said.
Eldridge was transported by ambulance to a site on the Arkansas Aeroplex, then airlifted to the Memphis hospital, where she reportedly died at 11:30 p.m.
Witnesses told police that Eldridge was apparently texting on a cell phone and crossed the street in an area where there are no street lights or crosswalks.
The driver of the truck was a 24-year-old Gosnell resident, who was not injured.
dhilton@blythevillecourier.com