Little Rock Radio: KARN News Anchor Dies In Fiery Crash

Gary DiGiuseppe

Cumulus Media is mourning the loss of an on-air radio personality who was one of the victims of a double fatal accident on a Interstate 430 bridge early Wednesday.

The Arkansas State Police says Gary Digiuseppe, 60, of Maumelle, died at the scene of the head-on collision that happened shortly before 4 a.m. when a wrong-way driver hit his vehicle.

Digiuseppe was a radio host on Newsradio KARN 102.9 FM, according to arkansasmatters.com.

Statement posted on the Facebook page of KARN:

We here at Cumulus Broadcasting, KARN, the Arkansas Radio Network and the Cumulus Group of stations are mourning the loss of a colleague.  

Longtime central Arkansas journalist, 60 year old Gary Digiuseppe, was on his way to work this morning from Maumelle and had just gotten on the interstate. 

He was headed in to report the morning news, when a woman traveling the wrong direction on Interstate 430 hit him head-on. According to the Arkansas State Police, the accident occurred at 3:49 a.m.  

Video taken by a passerby indicates both vehicles erupted in flames upon impact. Our colleague and the woman who hit him were both pronounced dead at the scene. The name of the female driver is not yet available.  

Our thoughts and prayers are with Gary Digiuseppe's wife, Mary, and the rest of his family as we all face the realization of the shocking loss of our co-worker. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the family of the unidentified woman who died in this tragic crash.

 DiGiuseppe was the morning newscaster for ‘First News with Kevin Miller’ on KARN and also provided daily newscasts for The Arkansas Radio Network. Gary was an agricultural reporter for 35 years and a member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting since 1983. His freelance work appears in several publications. He was formerly farm director of the Arkansas Radio Network, with previous stops at stations and networks in Ft. Dodge, Iowa; Jefferson City, Missouri; and Milan, Michigan. DiGiuseppe had a B.S. degree from Eastern Michigan University. He served the NAFB as farm safety, market news and resolutions chairman, and as editor of the organization’s newsletter.