Car rolls off bluff, killing Arkansas 16-year-old

Crews work a search and rescue for a vehicle and an occupant Friday on Beaver Lake off Saddle Shop Lane near U.S. 412 in Springdale. Clifford Collins, 16, drowned. His was found about 5:30 p.m. by divers.
Crews work a search and rescue for a vehicle and an occupant Friday on Beaver Lake off Saddle Shop Lane near U.S. 412 in Springdale. Clifford Collins, 16, drowned. His was found about 5:30 p.m. by divers.

SPRINGDALE -- A 16-year-old Springdale boy died Friday after the vehicle he was riding in submerged in Beaver Lake, according to the Washington County sheriff's office.

Clifford Collins' body was found about 5:30 p.m. by divers searching an area of the lake near U.S. 412 and Saddle Shop Lane, said Kelly Cantrell, sheriff's office spokesman.

Cantrell said the family had some car trouble but pulled over near the lake to look at the view about 2:30 p.m. The vehicle started rolling and fell off a bluff and into the lake with Clifford inside the vehicle, Cantrell said.

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The Washington County coroner's office will take the body to the state Crime Laboratory to confirm cause of death. The investigation continues, but no foul play is suspected, Cantrell said.

The sheriff's office was assisted by Central EMS, Nob Hill and Hickory Creek firefighters, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and dive teams from Washington and Benton counties, Cantrell said.

State Desk on 02/11/2017

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