ASH FLAT -- A disabled woman who thanked the congregation for being her "family" at the conclusion of a service in an Ash Flat church Wednesday evening died soon after, when she was struck by a truck while crossing a highway in her motorized wheelchair.
Laura Mitchell, 53, of Ash Flat was crossing U.S. 62 while on her way to her apartment when she was hit about 8:15 p.m., Sharp County Sheriff Mark Counts said. Police did not charge the motorist who struck her.
As services ended at Crossroads Baptist Church, Mitchell asked to speak, pastor Henry Parker said. Mitchell, who had been a member of the church for three years, thanked the congregation and told them that she loved them, Parker said.
"She said how happy she was going there," said sheriff's detective Sgt. Stan Haney, who attends the church and was there Wednesday evening. "She sang in the choir and had a beautiful voice."
Haney said it was not dark when she was struck. The wheelchair had reflectors, he said.
Parker said Mitchell traveled to and from church each week in her motorized wheelchair. She also routinely went to Wal-Mart about a mile from her home and made her way around Ash Flat.
"She's always been very careful," Parker said. "We'd see her driving around everywhere. She wore out those tires.
"Undoubtedly, she didn't see that truck, and he didn't see her," Parker added.
Several members of the congregation tended to Mitchell while waiting for medical personnel. She was taken to White River Medical Center's emergency center at Highland where she died, Haney said.
"She was very dedicated to the church," Parker said. "She was homebound except for that wheelchair, but she'd put forth a tremendous effort each week to get to church. I've seen her come to church holding an umbrella in the rain."
Parker said Mitchell's death hurt church members already saddened by last week's death of Crossroads Baptist Church member Gary "Crowbar" Russell, a Hardy resident who appeared in the Discovery Channel's television series Clash of the Ozarks in 2014.
"Crowbar told someone he was feeling better that day than he'd felt in years," Parker said. "He said he'd see them at church that night. He never made it to church. Two hours later, he was gone."
Another member died of a heart attack while at the church a few months ago, Parker said.
"It's sad," Parker said. "You never know when death comes. Laura was right with the Lord. We know she's in a better place."
The church plans to hold a memorial service for Mitchell.
"When things like this happen, we all get closer together," Parker said.
State Desk on 05/20/2016