Salem man charged in death
Victim holding onto vehicle before crash, officers say
One man is dead and another has been charged with manslaughter following an argument over a vehicle in Izard County, authorities said.
Deputies were notified Thursday of a crash involving an injured pedestrian in Horseshoe Bend, according to a Facebook post from the Izard County sheriff’s office. Once on scene, deputies found Corey Ferguson in a roadside ditch in front of a home on Hawk Lane, the post states
He was flown by air ambulance to UAMS Medical Center to receive treatment, deputies said. Ferguson died shortly after arriving at the hospital, authorities said, and his body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory.
Witnesses told officers Ferguson and the driver of the suspected vehicle, 30-year-old Alexander Blake Rouse, were involved in a fight in which Rouse was in the driver’s seat and Ferguson was standing outside the vehicle, the post states. The fight took place through the open window next to the driver’s seat, according to deputies.
Witnesses told authorities that during the altercation Rouse accelerated the vehicle while Ferguson was holding on to the steering wheel and door next to the driver’s seat, the post states.
Witnesses said the vehicle traveled at a high rate of speed off the roadway and into a ditch while Ferguson was holding onto it. According to authorities, the vehicle struck a mailbox and two driveway culverts.
Rouse continued driving for approximately 400 yards before stopping the vehicle, exiting and fleeing on foot, witnesses said. Authorities said a resident of a nearby home came outside, called 911 and began to administer aid to Ferguson.
While processing the scene, investigators learned Rouse fled to a home on Arkansas 354, where deputies took him into custody, according to the post.
Rouse, who deputies say is from Salem, was booked into the Izard County jail on charges including manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in the death or personal injury of another, and driving while intoxicated. He remained in the jail early Monday afternoon, according to an online inmate roster.