Man jailed in crash fatal to biker

A Garland County man was being held without bail in the Crawford County jail Thursday on a charge of second-degree murder, accused of killing a motorcyclist by slamming on his brakes.

The Arkansas State Police said Lawrence Finn, 31, of Pettigrew was arrested Wednesday morning after what was described as a road rage accident occurred on Interstate 40 between Van Buren and Alma.

A state police fatality summary said Jason Miller, 41, of Alma died in the accident. A probable cause affidavit released by the Crawford County prosecuting attorney’s office Thursday said witnesses reported seeing Finn slam on the brakes of his 1998 Dodge Ram pickup. The affidavit by state Trooper Matthew Price said the 2007 Yamaha that Miller was driving hit the rear bumper of the pickup, causing Miller to be dragged before sliding into the median.

According to the affidavit, Finn told Price that he was merging onto the interstate heading east from Interstate 540 northbound. As he was merging, he noticed a motorcycle was tailgating his pickup, the affidavit said. He tapped his brakes to stop the motorcyclist from following so closely, and that caused the motorcycle to hit his rear bumper, the affidavit said.

“There were two witnesses on the scene that gave a written and verbal statement stating that Finn slammed on his brakes in front of the motorcycle,” the affidavit said.

No formal charges were filed against Finn on Thursday. He is expected to go before a judge in circuit court Wednesday.