Judge Vic Fleming of Little Rock District Court was involved in a crash earlier this month in which he admitted fault and was not cited, according to a police vehicle-collision report.
Fleming said Tuesday that after the Dec. 2 crash - in which there were no injuries - he identified himself as a traffic judge to the responding officer and the occupants of the other vehicle. The officer chose to issue Fleming a verbal warning instead of a citation. Fleming, 61, said he advised the officer to report that decision to his supervisors.
Fleming, who presides over the city’s Traffic Court, was driving north on Arch Street when he turned left onto West Seventh Street and struck a Chevrolet Trailblazer head-on about 12:15 p.m., according to the report. He turned into the closest lane of West Seventh, the report notes, as if it was a one-way street.
Steve Manatt, his wife, Heidi, and their 2-year-old son were in the SUV. Steve Manatt said that although Fleming “pulled out in front of us,” he and his wife requested that Fleming not be cited. Fleming, however, actually insisted he be cited after the crash, according to Heidi Manatt.
Little Rock police spokesman Sgt. Cassandra Davis said that if an officer can’t determine who’s at fault in a crash, even when someone admits fault, an officer might not issue a citation.
“It’s not mandatory that we write a citation in an accident,” she said.
Arkansas, Pages 10 on 12/18/2013