One man is dead. A woman is severely injured. And another man is in custody after being charged with murder and assault. This is after an investigation into a fatal vehicle crash on Wednesday afternoon in Baxter County.
The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office reports Daniel Robert Adams (pictured below), 36, of rural Mountain Home, is being charged by the prosecuting attorney with one count of first-degree murder and four felony counts of aggravated assault.
Image via Baxter County Sheriff’s Office
The sheriff’s office says in a media release Adams was taken into custody yesterday after a two-vehicle crash in the area of Old Arkana Road in Baxter County.
The release notes authorities received a call from a female around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday who stated she was being followed and chased by a man in another vehicle and that this man had intentionally rammed the vehicle in which she was a passenger. The female caller knew the name of the driver of the other vehicle and gave the name to the 911 operator, according to the release.
Baxter County Sheriff’s Deputies began to immediately respond to the area to investigate and to attempt to make contact with these vehicles. Just three minutes later, a Baxter County deputy drove up on a two-vehicle crash in the area of 427 Old Arkana Road. The vehicles involved matched the description of those provided to the 911 operator by the female caller.
The release says the deputy found the driver of the first vehicle, identified as Phillip Patrick Laurie, 30, of Mountain Home, to be deceased and a female passenger in the same vehicle, identified as Danielle Ann Lamphear, 24, of Norfork, to be injured. Rescue and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to the scene, and the sheriff’s office says extrication equipment was used to help get the female out of the wrecked vehicle.
Adams was identified by authorities as the driver of the second vehicle. The sheriff’s office says Adams had allegedly been chasing and ramming the first vehicle. He was subsequently taken into custody and transported to the sheriff’s office for further investigation.
After being booked into the Baxter County Detention Facility, Adams was transferred on exchange to be held at the Boone County Detention Center in Harrison because Laurie’s mother works at the Baxter County Detention Center, according to the sheriff’s office.
Adams has a preliminary bond of $500,000 on the charges, and he will appear before the circuit court to answer later this month.
Baxter County Sheriff’s deputies and investigators were being assisted in the investigation by the Arkansas State Police. The Mountain Home Fire Department, Baxter Regional Medical Center Ambulance, and the Baxter County Coroner’s Office also responded to the crash scene, the sheriff’s office says.
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