Hit-and-run driver caught by Gentry PD

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

— With the assistance of Gentry Police, Arkansas State Police corporal Lori Whillock arrested a New Mexico woman in Gentry Wednesday afternoon after she drove her van into another vehicle on Arkansas Highway 59 and fled the scene of the accident.

“I was northbound on Highway 59 out of Gentry,” Whillock said. “I noticed a van with damage down the side and when I came up on Y-City Road on 59, I found the accident,” she said.

Whillock contacted the Gentry police and askedthem to watch for the van. Officer Rick Lane saw a van matching Whillock’s description, with damage and paint transfer, on Pioneer Lane and stopped the van on Avalon and held the driver there for Whillock.

The driver of the van, Carol Roberts, 56, of New Mexico, was arrested by Whillock and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, careless and prohibitive driving, leaving the scene of an accident and no proof of insurance, Whillock said.

Roberts tested .21 blood alcohol content, according to Whillock, almost three times the legal limit of .08.

News, Pages 5 on 04/27/2011