Guilty is plea in car strike

HOT SPRINGS — A Hot Springs woman accused last year of deliberately hitting her 75-year-old father with her vehicle pleaded guilty Tuesday in Garland County Circuit Court.

Cindy Darlene Jones-Clark, 55, was originally charged with first-degree domestic battery, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree domestic battery and was sentenced to six years’ probation, fined $500 and ordered to pay $420 in court costs.

Her probation came with special conditions, including that she must file and complete a mental counseling treatment plan. A court order barring her from any future contact with her father also was issued.

According to the affidavit, on Feb. 5, 2017, shortly after 10 p.m., Garland County sheriff’s deputies went to a residence in the 100 block of Mimosa Point on a report that a 75-year-old man had been struck by a car.

Two witnesses at the scene, including the victim’s other daughter, said the incident began while Jones-Clark was backing out of the driveway. She had her dog and a dog belonging to the other daughter in her car, according to the affidavit. When the second witness attempted to retrieve the other daughter’s dog, both dogs apparently got out.

When the father picked up the other daughter’s dog and lightly tossed it toward her, Jones-Clark put the car in drive, quickly accelerating toward him, according to the affidavit. The vehicle struck her father, sending him onto the hood of the car.