Two children die in car accident
Police say driver missing
Two children ages 3 and 5 were killed in a single vehicle accident about 6 p.m. Thursday on Hempstead County Road 324 east of the Clow community.
Five people were taken by private vehicle to Howard Memorial Hospital in Nashville, Ark., said Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton. The two children were pronounced dead by Howard County Coroner John Gray at the hospital.
To his knowledge, the other juvenile and two adults in the accident were not injured, Singleton said.
The driver of the vehicle is missing, Arkansas State Police Troop G Captain Brady Gore said Friday afternoon.
State police are searching for Mary Shardale Munn, 28, of Ozan, Ark., who reportedly was driving the Mitsubishi eastbound on the county road.
“We found out about the accident when the hospital called the sheriff’s department. Someone went to a house and used a tractor to pull the car out of the ditch,” Singleton said Friday morning. “They didn’t notify EMTs until they were at the hospital and the hospital called us.”
It appears the car rolled over.
The other adult passenger was Hazley Ramajae, 18, of Ozan.
Law enforcement officials cannot release the names of the juveniles as a matter of state law.
There were no witnesses other than the missing driver and two passengers, officials say.
“We’re in the middle of the investigation and had to start from scratch,” Gore said. “We’re trying to determine what happened and talk to the driver.”
Initially it was reported the five people in the vehicle ranged in age from 3 to 18. This story corrects that information. The age of one passenger has yet to be reported.
The crash is being investigated by the Arkansas State Police and Hempstead County Sheriff’s Office.
Clow is located about 15 miles north of Hope, Ark., and 8 miles south of Nashville. Hempstead County Road 324 runs near the Howard-Hempstead County line.