PRAIRIE COUNTY - A Prairie County jury awarded $10.3 million to the family of an Iraq war veteran who was burned while rescuing his wife and two children after a devastating collision on I-40 on July 22, 2008.

Mark Rogers and his family were traveling through Arkansas while on vacation when their car was corralled by several tractor-trailers near mile marker 203 outside Biscoe. One of the rigs ignited, and the fire spread, setting Rogers' car on fire. His was the only door that would open, so the 34 year old escaped and kicked in the windshield to rescue his wife, daughter and son.

In total, six tractor-trailers were involved in the catastrophic accident that left three of the four Rogers family members severely burned.

Jim Wilkes and Brian Reddick represented the Rogers family. Five of the companies settled before the trial for a total of $20.5 million. U.S. Xpress, Inc. denied liability and the case went to trial on Sept. 23, 2010.

Wilkes argued that U.S. Express Inc. driver Charles Daniels was following too closely that day and rear-ended a tractor-trailer owned by Triad Transport Inc., causing it to trap the Rogers family in their burning Pontiac. Daniels failed to maintain appropriate speed and distance, and violated other safety regulations, according to the lawsuit.

It took the Prairie County jury only two hours to deliberate.

At the time of the accident, Mark Rogers was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves. He had recently returned from his second tour in Iraq, where he served as a combat engineer. In an ironic twist of fate, Staff Sgt. Rogers was a K-9 handler who searched for explosives in Iraq with the goal of maintaining safe highways.