From Staff Reports
Traffic was blocked on a section of Slack Street (Arkansas Highway 72) for several hours Sunday morning after a gas meter was hit by a vehicle causing a gas leak.
Police were notified of the accident at 7:46 a.m. Sunday, March 11. Residents of nearby houses were evacuated until employees from Black Hills Energy secured the line.
As a result of the investigation, it was discovered that a a 12-year-old male was driving. He was arrested and charged with reckless driving and no driver's license. According to the police report, the youth, who is from Fayetteville, had more than $3,600 in his pocket and another $222 in the vehicle in addition to his mother's wallet, debit card and credit cards. He had also reportedly stopped at the Walmart in Elm Springs to purchase an eight-inch Ares tablet.
The 2002 Pontiac Grand Am is owned by the child's mother, who had listed him as a runaway. She told police he had taken the vehicle four other times and had also taken three other vehicles belonging to others. She told police the keys were kept in a lock box, but the child had apparently pried open the box.
According to witneses, the vehicle was west bound and drifted across the white line into the ditch on the north side of the road, striking a stop sign and then coming to rest against the gas meter. A witness secured the child away from the scene.
There were no injuries reported.
General News on 03/15/2018