A 36-year-old motorcyclist from Absecon, New Jersey, died Sunday afternoon after his Harley-Davidson struck the trailer of a slowing semi-truck on eastbound Interstate 40 near West Memphis, Arkansas. Lorenzo Kozenskie was riding a 2022 Harley-Davidson when he collided with the trailer of a 2024 Freightliner around 2:38 p.m. at mile marker 277, amid congested traffic. He was pronounced dead after being rushed across the Mississippi River to a Memphis hospital.
According to a preliminary crash summary from the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, traffic was slowing due to congestion when Kozenskie's motorcycle failed to stop before striking the rear of the Freightliner's trailer. The same preliminary report notes that weather conditions were clear and the road surface was dry at the time of the crash, as first detailed by NEA Report. Trooper Dylan Evans, badge 178, is listed as the investigating officer.
Kozenskie was transported across state lines to Regional One Health in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was pronounced deceased, the preliminary report states. Regional One Health operates the Elvis Presley Trauma Center, which functions as the only Level 1 trauma center within 150 miles of Memphis, according to Southern Injury Attorneys, meaning severe trauma cases from eastern Arkansas and western Tennessee are routinely routed into the Memphis facility.
A Corridor Built for Heavy Freight
The stretch of I-40 where the crash occurred is one of the busiest freight arteries in the country. Interstate 40 through West Memphis and Crittenden County carries between 23,500 and 26,500 commercial heavy trucks per day across the Mississippi River, according to the Arkansas Trucking Association, and traffic-pattern changes have been intended to ease flow and reduce merging conflicts. That volume of commercial traffic makes the area an important freight corridor.
Motorcyclists Face Outsized Risk Statewide
Kozenskie's death adds to Arkansas's traffic-fatality toll. Motorcycle crashes can also have fatal consequences.
Arkansas law does not require helmets for adult riders. Under Arkansas Code § 27-20-104, helmets are mandatory only for motorcycle operators and passengers under 21, a standard that has been in place since the state legislature repealed its universal helmet mandate in 1997, per Rainwater, Holt & Sexton.
Investigation Remains Preliminary
The account released so far is preliminary. Any civil claims stemming from the crash would fall under Arkansas's 50 percent modified comparative fault rule, which bars recovery when a claimant is 50 percent or more at fault, per Southern Injury Attorneys.
No further updates on the Crittenden County investigation have been released.
