Police arrest LR man in hit-and-run that injured teen

A 20-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in a recent hitand-run that left a teenager in critical condition.

Nathan Schneider of Little Rock faces one count of first-degree battery in the hitand-run crash, which occurred in the parking lot of a west Little Rock shopping center on Dec. 26.

Lt. Michael Ford, a Little Rock police spokesman, said Schneider surrendered to authorities Tuesday morning. He said the hit-and-run victim, 19-year-old Justin Duft, remained in critical condition at a hospital.

A witness told police Duft had approached Schneider’s vehicle at the parking lot to apologize for a fight the previous week, but the situation ended with Schneider running over the victim, court records show.

A separate witness said Duft and Schneider had been arguing in recent weeks over a woman they were both interested in and had fought the previous week over comments Schneider made to the woman, according to the court documents.

Little Rock officers responded around 9:30 p.m. Dec. 26 to the parking lot at 13000 Chenal Parkway, where they found Duft unresponsive.

Authorities spoke to 20-yearold Bradley Johnson, who said he witnessed the hit-and-run and was friends with both Duft and Schneider, according to an affidavit. Johnson told police Duft and Schneider had been arguing in recent weeks over the woman they both wanted to date.

Johnson told police he and

Duft traveled to Rock City Vapes on Dec. 26 to meet up with 20-year-old Abbie Peters, the woman the two men were arguing over, and another woman. The witness said they were all at the shopping center when Schneider arrived.

According to the documents, Johnson said he was in his vehicle when he saw Schneider and Duft in a disturbance. He said he then saw Schneider “put his vehicle in reverse and then speed forward and run over Mr. Duft who was lying on the ground.”

Authorities also interviewed Peters, who said Duft had been “pursuing her for some times now.” She told police that she and the other woman got off from work at Rock City Vapes and got into Johnson’s vehicle.

Peters said Duft walked over to Schneider’s vehicle to apologize for the fight that occurred the previous week, according to the affidavit.

“Ms. Peters stated that Mr. Duft went to hug Mr. Schneider’s girlfriend before leaving and that she punched Mr. Duft in the face,” according to the affidavit.

She said Duft began arguing with Schneider and then started punching him in the face, according to the documents. Schneider then backed up, causing Duft to fall, Peters reported. Peters said Schneider then sped forward and ran over Duft, according to the affidavit.

“Ms. Peters stated that it appeared as if Mr. Schneider intentionally ran over Mr. Duft before leaving the scene at a high rate of speed,” according to the affidavit.

Authorities also said two employees at a nearby Five Guys restaurant witnessed the hit-and-run.

One of the employees said the victim was punching the driver of a SUV, who was inside the vehicle at the time, according to the court records. The witness said the victim fell to the ground after the driver reversed the vehicle, according to the affidavit. The witness told police the SUV then sped forward and ran over the victim, who was lying on the ground.

According to the documents, the witness said the driver of the vehicle “appeared to intentionally turn the vehicle towards the victim and run him over.”

Schneider was listed on the Pulaski County jail roster Tuesday afternoon.