An Izard County woman, 60-year-old Cheryl Clement of Horseshoe Bend, has been charged with negligent homicide in connection with a fatal accident in late January that claimed the life of a Melbourne teen.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed Monday, about six minutes before the two-vehicle head-on crash occurred, a truck matching the description of the one Clement was driving had been reported all over the road near Wisemen.
The accident occurred about 5:38 on the evening of Jan. 30th on Johnson View Road.
Clement was airlifted to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences at Little Rock, while the second driver, 44-year-old Rodney D. Kemp of Salem, was airlifted to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.
A passenger in Kemp’s vehicle, 17-year-old Tiffany Marie Russell of Melbourne, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to her obituary with Eddie’s Family Funeral Home, Russell was a 10th grade student at Salem High School.
Blood draws from both drivers were collected later that evening, about four hours after the accident.
An investigation beginning the following day revealed video footage of Clement entering and leaving a club in Horseshoe Bend, as well as testimony from the bartender. The film shows Clement leaving the parking lot of the establishment at 5:27 p.m., approximately 11 minutes before the fatal crash.
Last Wednesday, Izard County law enforcement received the results of a crime lab report analysis, indicating Clement’s blood alcohol at the time of the crash was almost three times the legal limit of 0.08.
Additional charges against Clement include a felony count of second-degree battery and a misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated.
Her bond has been set at $10,000.
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