Police and emergency responders were on the scene of a two-vehicle head-on crash on East Pickens Road shortly after 6:30 p.m. for nearly two hours the night of Tuesday, Jan. 20.
Three persons were sent to area hospitals -- two by air (helicopter) ambulance.
Robert Everett Gorman, 54, Springdale, was eastbound in the westbound lane and hit a westbound vehicle driven by Linda G. Hardin, 59, Garfield. There was a 14-year-old female passenger in Hardin's vehicle, according to the Pea Ridge Police Department report.
According to witnesses on the scene, who had followed the Gorman vehicle out of Pea Ridge, the vehicle crossed the center line several times. The witness said she called 911 and checked on the drivers of the vehicles. She did not wish to be identified.
Ambulances from Pea Ridge and Northeast Benton County were on scene. Traffic was blocked for nearly two hours. Two ambulance helicopters landed. One landed on Arkansas Highway 72 (East Pickens Road) and took Hardin. After it lifted off, the second helicopter landed and took Gorman to a hospital.
Hardin's passenger was taken by NEBCO ambulance to an area hospital.
Gorman was charged with careless and prohibited driving and driving on a suspended driver's license/DWI-related, according to Pea Ridge Police.
Editorial on 01/28/2015