MALVERN -- A woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges related to the 2016 train-collision death of her 7-year-old son, saying she couldn't recall the events surrounding the incident.
Sara Rae Morris, 31, Hot Springs, was sentenced to 10 years in the Department of Corrections after pleading nolo contendere to felony manslaughter and a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a minor.
Chief deputy prosecutor Stephen Shirron said nolo contendere means that a defendant pleads no contest to the charges.
"Effectively, she is not contesting the state's sufficiency of evidence," Shirron said.
Prosecuting attorney Teresa Howell said four years of the sentence will be suspended, which means Morris will spend six years in prison.
Morris originally faced three counts of felony endangering the welfare of a minor and possession of methamphetamine in addition to manslaughter. The additional charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Defense attorney Brandon Crawford told the court Morris pleaded no contest because she couldn't recall any of the events before or after the collision.
"She suffered a traumatic injury to her brain," Crawford said. "She is not in any position to acknowledge guilt, but she is prepared to acknowledge the state has enough evidence to convict her."
Circuit Judge Eddy Easley told Morris that her plea was still a plea of guilty in the eyes of the court.
The charges stemmed from a March 2016 incident in which Morris drove a vehicle containing four children in front of a train.
An affidavit filed by Special Agent Jimmie Thomas II of the Arkansas State Police said Morris was driving a Chevrolet Trailblazer east on Dixsonville Road in rural Hot Spring County as a train approached a crossing from the south.
A review of a video recording obtained from Union Pacific confirmed that the vehicle "stopped momentarily prior to the crossing and then accelerated to the point of impact as the train approached," the affidavit said.
Data stored within the air-bag control module of the vehicle indicated that Morris accelerated to 12 mph, from a stop position, when the locomotive was about 125 feet away.
A statement from a railroad employee said one child in the front seat "had [his] head out of sunroof when impact was made."
Data and evidence also showed that the children were not wearing seat belts at the time of collision, but Morris was.
David Tucker was in the front passenger seat and was pronounced dead at the scene. Three other children -- a 9-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, and a 9-year-old girl -- were taken to hospitals, as was Morris, the affidavit said. The affidavit did not name the other children or specify any relationships among the children or with Morris.
A blood sample from Morris tested positive for oxycodone, methamphetamine, marijuana and benzodiazepines, according to the affidavit. Methamphetamine and marijuana were found in the vehicle, the affidavit said.
Jamie Gibson, the mother of the 9-year-old girl, told the court the accident had done irreversible damage to their family.
"She suffers from PTSD, depression and has panic attacks," Gibson said of her daughter. "She tries to self-harm herself. She is embarrassed at the scars on her body, and I can only buy her clothes with sleeves.
"My once happy child thinks of pain and death daily."
Chris Tucker, the father of David Tucker, wrote a letter to the court that was read by a stand-in while Tucker looked on in tears.
"We learned you decided to do drugs that day and you chose to lose your son," the letter read. "You, Sara, have destroyed so many people, so many families and so many lives."
A letter written by David Tucker's two older brothers said losing him was the worst day of their lives, but that they took solace in knowing they would be with him again in heaven.
"It will be a great day when we see him," the letter read, "but it will be a better day when we know you aren't there."
Morris was taken into custody after the proceedings ended.
Gibson said seeing Morris plead left her conflicted.
"I would say I was relieved, but she got a light sentence," Gibson said.
State Desk on 10/03/2018