Stolen vehicle involved in double fatality wreck

Two people were killed shortly before noon Wednesday in the 2100 block of Albert Pike when their car was struck by a reportedly stolen vehicle driven by a 19-year-old Georgia man that minutes earlier was involved in a police pursuit, Hot Springs police said.

The pursuit had already been terminated by police prior to the collision, Cpl. Joey Williams said.

Gystin Michael Parker, of Riverdale, Ga., has been charged with felony counts of theft by receiving and fleeing in a vehicle in connection with the incident, a news release said. He was being held on $100,000 bond.

Albert Pike was partially closed in the 2000 block due to the collision. The westbound lanes were completely blocked until after noon, and traffic was being diverted into the turn lane in that area.

According to the release, at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday police took a report in reference to a silver 2009 Hyundai Sonata being stolen from 400 Linwood St. At 11:24 a.m., officers observed the car in the area of Third Street and Hobson.

Officers attempted to stop the car at Hicks Circle and Albert Pike Road, but the driver, later identified as Parker, fled and officers initiated a pursuit. Officers lost sight of the vehicle in the 1400 block of Albert Pike and, “due to dangerous speeds,” the pursuit was terminated, the release said.

At 11:27 a.m., officers located the car wrecked in the 2100 block of Albert Pike, where it had struck a 2000 Toyota Corolla in the driver’s side. The two occupants of the Toyota were killed in the collision and their identities were not being released late Wednesday, pending notification of next of kin.

“The crash is currently under investigation and more charges will be forthcoming, pending the results of the investigation,” the release said.

Hot Springs police and fire department personnel were at the scene, where the Sonata was upside down on a sidewalk and the Corolla was in a nearby ditch. The police department’s crime scene investigation team was also at the scene.

It was around 1:30 p.m. when the last of the emergency vehicles cleared the scene and the vehicles had been removed by wrecker services.

The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen CRIME SCENE: Hot Springs police investigate the scene where an allegedly stolen silver 2009 Hyundai Sonata struck a 2009 Toyota Corolla, killing the two occupants of the Corolla.

The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen SUSPECT: Gystin Michael Parker, 19, of Riverdale, Ga., is taken into custody by Hot Springs police Wednesday following a double fatality accident involving an allegedly stolen vehicle that Parker was believed to be driving.