Car driven on southwest Arkansas field threatens children

Police lights are shown in this file photo.
Police lights are shown in this file photo.

Texarkana police arrested a woman Friday who drove through a field on school property where more than 200 children were playing, a police spokesman said.

Lt. Zachary White said Michelle Harutunian was arrested on a preliminary charge of aggravated assault Friday after officers found her car in a field near a school. White said the charges could change pending further investigation.

Harutunian told police she was "looking for her dog," but school staff at North Heights Junior High School told police she'd driven directly at groups of children who were attending an event at the school, White said.

Witnesses told police more than 200 children were in the field near an event at the school when Harutunian drove onto the field toward them, White said. After the children ran from her oncoming vehicle, Harutunian then accelerated toward a different group of kids before officers stopped her, according to police.

No one was harmed in the incident, but White said Harutunian's behavior caused a "substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to several [Texarkana School District] students and staff."

The Miller County jail does not have an online roster of inmates.

Metro on 10/19/2019

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