Arkansas driver accused of slamming on brakes, causing fatal motorcycle crash pleads innocent

A Pettigrew man has pleaded innocent in Crawford County Circuit Court to a second-degree murder charge accusing him of slamming on his brakes and causing a tailgating motorcyclist to crash.

Circuit court records show Prosecuting Attorney Marc McCune filed the charge Monday afternoon against Lawrence Finn. An attorney representing Finn, Cody Dowden of Bentonville, filed a document Monday waiving court arraignment on the charge and entering the innocent plea.

Finn, 31, is charged in the May 24 death of Jason Miller, 41, of Alma who was riding a 2007 Yamaha motorcycle on the ramp from Interstate 540 to Interstate 40 eastbound at mile marker 7.

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A probable-cause affidavit said Finn told an Arkansas State Police trooper he saw the motorcycle tailgating as he was merging onto the interstate. He said he tapped the brakes on his 1998 Dodge Ram pickup to get the motorcyclist to back off, but the motorcycle hit his rear bumper and crashed.

The affidavit said witnesses gave statements that Finn slammed on his brakes in front of the motorcycle.

The trooper concluded in the affidavit that Finn slammed on his brakes, the motorcycle ran into the back bumper and caused Miller to be dragged behind Finn's pickup before sliding into the median.

The second-degree murder charge stated that Finn "knowingly cause[d] the death of another person under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life."

State Desk on 06/21/2017

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