A 19-year-old Jasper man and a juvenile passenger were killed Tuesday morning when an SUV pulled out of a parking lot and struck their motorcycle head-on during a rainstorm on Arkansas Highway 392 near Batavia. Isaiah Riddell, a 2025 graduate of Jasper High School, was driving the motorcycle at the time of the crash, and the identity of his young passenger has not been released.
SUV Pulled Into Path of Oncoming Motorcycle
According to KY3, Riddell and his juvenile passenger were killed following a head-on collision with an SUV that was pulling out of a commercial parking lot onto Highway 392 during rainy weather conditions. The crash happened in the unincorporated community of Batavia, just west of Harrison, the station reports. State Police have not released the passenger's name, age, or gender because the victim is a minor, per the same report.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette adds detail from the Arkansas State Police fatal crash summary, reporting that Riddell was driving a 2014 Kawasaki motorcycle west on Arkansas 392 around 7:38 a.m. Tuesday when a 2001 Jeep Cherokee exited a parking lot to travel east, then entered the westbound lane and struck the motorcycle head-on. The newspaper notes that the crash summary did not list the Jeep driver's name, nor did it clarify whether both victims were taken to North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison or whether one died at the scene. KY3, however, reports that both Riddell and his passenger died at the scene, a detail that differs from the newspaper's account of the crash summary.
Investigation Continues, Driver's Condition Unclear
Arkansas State Police's highway patrol division is continuing to investigate the crash, the station notes. The preliminary report did not indicate whether the Jeep's driver was injured, according to the same KY3 account. The Arkansas State Police fatal-crash listing shows two entries, numbered 399 and 400, dated Tuesday at State Highway 392 in Batavia, corresponding to the two lives lost.
An investigating trooper reported that the weather was rainy and the road was wet at the time of the crash, according to the Democrat-Gazette's account of the state summary.
Remembering a Recent Jasper High School Graduate
Coffman Funeral Home posted an online obituary for Riddell, which says Isaiah Ray Riddell of Jasper passed away on Tuesday at the age of 19. The obituary identifies him as a 2025 graduate of Jasper High School. No additional details about the circumstances of his death are included in the tribute.
