MH woman charged in connection with vehicle accident claiming life of unborn child

A Mountain Home woman, 43-year-old Michele Lynn Wood, has been arrested and charged with manslaughter and reckless driving in connection with an accident June 12th claiming the life of an unborn child.  While police did not release the name of the victim or her mother, the mother did an interview with KYTV where she is identified as Ashley Roemmich and the baby is identified as Callie Brooke Roemmich.

Mountain Home Police Chief Carry Manuel says the fatal accident followed a series of 911 calls referencing a vehicle being driven recklessly, being all over the road, and nearly hitting a second car head-on.

The first call to 911 came from a driver in the area of Highway 5 North. At approximately 5:47 p.m., the caller advised dispatch he was following a blue car, and it was all over the road. The same individual called back about five minutes later saying the vehicle was now on Highway 126 North, headed south toward Gassville.

The caller contacted 911 a third time a short while later saying he needed a county or state unit because the vehicle had almost hit another vehicle head-on. The caller stayed on the phone with the 911 operator, giving details as they happened.

He said the female driver had just stopped in the middle of the road, blocking both lanes of traffic. The caller then followed the vehicle until it arrived at a car wash in Gassville. The caller later told officers the female driver exited the car and was looking at her hanging side passenger mirror. The caller was met by a Gassville officer. The Gassville unit then advised dispatch to notify the Mountain Home Police Department the vehicle was eastbound on U.S. Highway 62/412, but he had traffic between his vehicle and the car he was following and could not watch her driving.About 6:45, a female called Baxter County dispatch advising she was almost sideswiped by a blue four-door car going through Mountain Home. The caller advised the vehicle’s side mirror was hanging, and the car was speeding passed her like she was sitting still.

The caller explained the blue car was swerving in and out of traffic lanes and had run the red traffic signal at Cardinal and Highway 62. She described the car as a blue four-door with no tinted windows, being driven by a blond girl with her hair in a messy bun.

At approximately 8:20, a call came into 911 regarding a two-vehicle accident involving the blue car. A witness to the accident told law enforcement the car had flown past him at the square on Main Street in Mountain Home. He said his vehicle windows were down, and he had heard the tires squeal just before impact. The passenger of the second vehicle struck by the blue car was rushed by a passerby to Baxter Regional Medical Center.

Chief Manuel says it was learned the passenger was eight months pregnant. Bodycam video recorded a passenger in the blue vehicle immediately following the accident telling law enforcement, “She was driving way too fast for conditions coming around that curve. I told her to slow down.”

Manuel says the pregnant passenger was immediately taken into surgery where a female baby was delivered. Two days later, the baby was taken off life support while at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. According to the medical examiner, the baby sustained fatal hypoxic brain injury in utero, when the mother was injured in the motor vehicle collision. The baby was alive following delivery, and the mother had reportedly had a physician visit within the previous day before the accident and was given a clean bill of health.

In an earlier report, Chief Manuel told KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot news it appeared alcohol was not a factor in the crash. However, blood was taken from Wood and was sent to the state crime lab for analysis.

Monday, Manuel said a toxicology report has not been received. Depending on the outcome of the report, additional charges could be filed.

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