SUV chased by trooper hits church; passenger dies
A woman died and a man was injured Tuesday when their vehicle crashed into a rural church in Widener after they fled from an Arkansas State Police trooper.
Police have not released the identity of the woman, pending notification of family, said Liz Chapman, a state police spokesman. Police also would not identify the man, who was driving the vehicle.
A state police trooper attempted to stop a Ford Bronco on Interstate 40 at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday at mile marker 249 near the St. Francis County town, according to Chapman. She said the trooper reported the license plate of the vehicle to a dispatcher and learned the car was stolen.
The Bronco sped away, heading east on Interstate 40 before exiting onto St. Francis County Road 419.
After traveling north on the county road for about a mile, the driver turned into the gravel parking lot of Riverside Mission Church at St. Francis County Road 419 and County Road 416. The vehicle then struck the north side of the church, leaving a gaping hole in the brick wall, Chapman said.
The impact killed the woman, Chapman said. Authorities sent her body to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for autopsy.
The driver was taken to a hospital and is expected to be arrested and charged when he is released, Chapman said.
No one was injured inside the church, police said.
Forrest City Fire Chief Anthony Renigar said firefighters were called to the church to help extricate the victim
and to put out a small fire.
Albert Lewis, owner of Albert Lewis Used Cars on St. Francis County Road 419, said he installed a security camera at his car lot Monday and caught footage of the car chase on video. His car lot is about a half-mile south of the church.
“You could see that Bronco going down the road,” he said of watching the video. “Then a state trooper followed about 10 feet behind.”
Lewis said although he is in rural St. Francis County, he often sees cars speeding down the road, at times being pursued by police.
“It happens four or five times a year,” he said. “It’s a tough area.”
In August 2015, a 31-yearold man died in Widener after he fled police and crashed his vehicle into a tree.
Lewis said he saw several emergency responders head to the church and he saw smoke billowing from the building. He also saw a wrecker carry the damaged car away.
“It was terribly destroyed,” he said. “It must have rolled over and over. The roof was caved in. I’ve been selling cars for 30 years. I wouldn’t be able to tell what kind of car it was if I didn’t know cars.”