MILLER COUNTY, Ark. – A Lafayette County man claims a fatal crash in October that took the life of his wife and 3-year-old daughter was caused by smoke from a mismanaged controlled burn on agricultural property adjacent to an Arkansas highway.
Cody Nix has filed suit in Miller County on behalf of himself and his minor son in connection with the Oct. 16 deaths of his wife, Sara Lea Nix, 28, and her 3‑year‑old daughter, Raylea Chanler Nix.
Nix claims that a controlled burn targeting crop residue and stalks started by defendant Dale Allen Seiler, a principal with A&D Farms Partnership, got out of hand and created smoke that obscured visibility for motorists along Highway 160, according to the lawsuit.
Seiler contacted the Arkansas Department of Transportation ahead of the burn but grew impatient waiting for a response and went ahead without coordinating with the agency, the complaint alleges.
“Defendant Seiler’s decision to proceed with the burn without waiting for proper coordination demonstrated a conscious disregard for the safety of motorists on Highway 160,” the complaint said. “Upon information and belief, as a result of the burn, dense smoke blew across Highway 160, resulting in a hazardous condition on and adjacent to the roadway.”
As the fire grew out of control, Seiler allegedly “directed or requested defendant Jasetyn Rich to retrieve and deploy a fire truck to address the out‑of‑control burn that Seiler himself had negligently initiated,” the complaint said.
Rich, who was acting as an “agent, servant or employee” of Seiler and A&D Farms, allegedly “positioned the fire truck on the south side of Highway 160, partially on the shoulder and partially on the grass, facing west, in a manner that obstructed or impeded traffic on the highway without any advance warning, traffic control, flaggers, signage, flares, or traffic cones, while smoke continued to reduce visibility,” the lawsuit alleges.
Parking the truck in or near lanes of traffic while smoke blew across the roadway created a dangerous situation for drivers, the complaint said.
Sara Nix was traveling westbound in a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe along the highway with her daughter in tow when Woodson Cleve Tabor, who was driving a tractor trailer for Burton Brothers in the eastbound lane, swerved into the Tahoe’s path, the complaint said.
“Defendant Tabor’s tractor‑trailer struck the Nix vehicle, causing a violent, head-on collision that killed both Sara Lea Nix and Raylea Chanler Nix,” the complaint said. “The front left of Sara Nix’s vehicle struck the front left portion of the tractor and the front left of the trailer of the tractor-trailer driven by defendant Tabor, causing a catastrophic collision.”
Rich, Tabor and Burton Brothers are also named as defendants in the lawsuit, which alleges that a combination of negligence by Seiler, Rich and Tabor led to the deadly crash.
The lawsuit further faults Seiler for failing to comply with an Arkansas law that required him to notify the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office of the approximate time and location for the burn. No signage warning “smoke ahead,” was utilized and no flaggers, who might have slowed traffic and cautioned drivers, were in place, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit seeks damages from all the defendants for wrongful death.
In accusing Seiler of negligence and gross negligence, the lawsuit says he “consciously disregarded the known and obvious risk that setting fire to crop residue immediately adjacent to a state highway could cause smoke to obstruct the roadway and endanger motorists.”
“Despite this known risk, Defendant Seiler chose to proceed with the burn without waiting for proper coordination, without posting a single flagger or warning sign, and without notifying the sheriff’s office, demonstrating a willful, wanton, and reckless disregard for the safety of the traveling public,” the complaint said.
The complaint alleges Rich was negligent because he parked a fire truck along the roadway without “advance warning, flaggers, signage, flares, traffic cones, or other warning devices.”
Rich should have known that parking a large vehicle in conditions of “near-zero visibility” created a potentially fatal hazard for motorists, the complaint said.
“Defendant Rich’s conduct far exceeded mere inadvertence or ordinary negligence and instead reflected a conscious failure to exercise even slight care for the safety of others,” the complaint said. “Defendants Dale Allen Seiler and A&D Farms Partnership are vicariously liable for the negligent and grossly negligent acts and omissions of defendant Jasetyn Rich committed within the course and scope of his agency.”
The complaint accuses Tabor of failing to safely operate the Burton Brothers tractor trailer and of “unsafe evasive maneuvering.”
The lawsuit seeks to recover punitive damages from Seiler and A&D Farms for their “reckless” disregard of the safety of motorists along the highway adjacent to the agricultural property. The complaint seeks a damages award from all the defendants for the pain and mental anguish felt by the crash victims, their family members and the loss that the family will suffer in the future as a result of their deaths.
“Plaintiffs seek a jury to act as the conscience of the community; not only to compensate the Nix family for their damages but also to deter similar conduct in the community in the future,” the complaint said.
While the crash that killed Sara Nix and her daughter occurred in Lafayette County, the case could be filed in Miller County because one of the defendants, Rich, is a resident of Miller County.
The Nix family is represented by attorneys with Nix Patterson LLP and the Law Offices of Kyle M. Robinson. Counsel information for the defendants was not available Wednesday.