A man faces a murder charge after running down a car in which his ex-girlfriend was a passenger and ramming it multiple times, resulting in a deadly crash on Old Arkana Road in Baxter County on Wednesday afternoon, the sheriff's office said Thursday.
Daniel Robert Adams, 36, who lives outside Mountain Home, is charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder and four counts of aggravated assault, all felonies, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said in a news release.
Authorities identified the victim as Phillip Patrick Laurie, 30, of Mountain Home, and the injured passenger as Danielle Ann Lamphear of Norfork. She suffered "serious injuries" and is in a hospital trauma center, the sheriff's office said Thursday.
Adams was Lamphear's ex-boyfriend, Chief Deputy Capt. Jeff Lewis said Thursday afternoon. He said he was not sure what Laurie's relationship to Lamphear or Adams was.
Around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, deputies responded to a 911 call from Lamphear, who said Adams "smashed into my car," according to a record of the call found in the arrest affidavit. "I just left him, and he is chasing me right now," Lamphear told the dispatcher.
During the call, Lamphear was screaming so loudly that the phone's microphone was overpowered and would clip out, Sheriff's Investigator George Edings wrote in the affidavit.
At one point in the chase, Lamphear told the dispatcher that "we are in a ditch," and then told the dispatcher, "I can't get away from him."
As the dispatcher directed deputies to the scene, Lamphear screamed loudly and then went silent, the affidavit states. The dispatcher can be heard trying to talk to Lamphear, but is interrupted by her groaning and then screaming in pain, the affidavid said.
During this, a voice, believed to be Adams, can be heard asking "Danielle, are you alright?" according to the affidavit. Adams was arrested on the scene.
Investigators determined via interviews with witnesses that the confrontation started at Adams' residence, where he and Lamphear had lived until days before the crash, according to the affidavit. Adams said they recently split, and Lamphear's things were packed to move out when Lamphear and Laurie arrived in a 2011 Ford Focus.
The trio left the property, with Adams exiting at a high speed in a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado truck, and the first collision happened where the gravel road met pavement on Old Arkana Road, the affidavit states.
In the initial collision, markings at the scene indicated that Adams' truck pushed Laurie's car off the road before spinning out and losing control, with both vehicles getting back on the road.
Physical evidence and witness statements indicated at least two more rammings by Adams, one of which drove both vehicles off the road again before the chase continued, the affidavit states.
Finally, Adams appears to have struck the rear of the car, causing it to crash into a ditch, collide with the edge of a driveway and ramp into the air, according to the affidavit. While in the air, it struck a tree, causing fatal injuries to Laurie and serious injuries to Lamphear. Adams' truck hit an embankment and rolled over before landing upright.
Adams' driver's license was suspended at the time of the wreck.
Adams was booked into the Baxter County jail and then transferred to the Boone County jail in Harrison because Laurie's mother works at the Baxter County jail.
Adams has a preliminary bond of $500,000 and will appear in court at a time and date to be determined.