TEXARKANA -- A two-vehicle accident early Friday evening on Interstate 30 sent an 8-month-old girl hurtling 35 feet into a drainage ditch entrance beneath metal bars, but rescuers found her unharmed.
The accident, which happened shortly after 6:30 p.m. nearly a mile east of Interstate 30's interchange with Interstate 49, happened when an eastbound 2014 McCleod Express Freightliner rig attempted to change lanes and struck an eastbound 2016 black Nissan Altima.
The rig's driver, Jimmy Eugene Booker, 55, of Clarendon, attempted to move from the inner lane to the outer lane, where the Altima was, according to a Texarkana police report. On impact, the Altima skidded sideways ahead of the truck and veered to the left before careening into the median's guardrail system. The Altima came to a stop upright but facing west, according to the police accident report.
The impact from the crash ejected the baby from the car's back window 35 feet into a drainage ditch separating the eastbound and westbound traffic, the report said. The infant landed beneath some metal drainage ditch entrance bars, according the accident report.
Police Cpl. Les Mun, who investigated the accident, wrote in his report that upon arrival he could "hear several people screaming that they couldn't find the infant." Mun radioed other officers and requested help in searching for the baby.
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Eventually, a bystander assisting in the search said he could hear what sounded like a baby near the middle of the median. Police, fire department and civilian searchers found the infant lying near a drainage entrance under metal bars that served as a debris screen.
Fighters retrieved the baby unharmed. She was taken to Wadley Regional Medical Center for evaluation.
The driver and three passengers -- all from Hope -- also were in the Altima. A 15-year-old girl and two women -- Justice Lawson, 17, and Jakesa Colson, 20 -- were taken to Wadley Regional for possible injuries.
The Altima's driver, Trina Johnson, 42, sustained "significant injuries" to her left side, according to the report. Johnson stepped out of the Altima into traffic after the accident and was hit by a passing sport utility vehicle, police said.
Police cited Booker with improper and unsafe lane changing.
State Desk on 11/29/2016