Daniel Adams (Photo courtesy of Baxter County Sheriff’s Office)
Parole for a Mountain Home man serving time for manslaughter and aggravated assault has been denied.
Thirty-nine-year-old Daniel Robert Adams was sentenced to a total of 16 years in prison in 2023. He is currently an inmate at the Wrightsville Unit of the state prison system.
Adams has shown addresses in rural Mountain Home and Ville Platt, La.
He was initially charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated assault and traffic violations.
At the time, 14th Judicial District Prosecutor David Ethredge said after multiple reviews of the evidence in the case, “It became clear that some of the more serious original charges could not be proven.”
Adams’ charges stem from an incident in early October 2021 when he is reported to have smashed his white Chevrolet pickup truck into a Ford Focus in which his ex-girlfriend was a passenger, causing the death of the male driver.
The incident began at Adams’ home on Old Arkana Road where the female victim had been living with him.
Adams and the female were reported to be ending their relationship, and the woman was moving out. She had come to the residence to pick up her personal belongings.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a male, then 31-year-old Philip Patrick Laurie, drove the woman, identified as 24-year-old Danielle Ann Lamphear, to Adams’ residence.
At some point, Laurie and Lamphear departed, heading northbound on Old Arkana Road. Adams was said to have begun chasing the car in which his ex-girlfriend was riding.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the first collision happened at a point on Old Arkana Road where the gravel ends and pavement begins.
Laurie’s Ford Focus was pushed off the roadway by Adams’ truck.
Near Glade Hill Lane, tire marks indicate the car left the roadway on the right side, while Adams’ truck skidded sideways for about 200 feet before coming to rest off the side of the roadway.
Lamphear called 911 and reported what was happening.
As the call continued, Lamphear was reported to have started to scream hysterically – to the point the microphone in the cell phone was overpowered and deactivated.
Lamphere reported to 911 at one point, “We are in a ditch.” She told the 911 dispatcher, “I can’t get away from him.”
A witness told police that he and his grandchildren met the car and truck as they sped along Old Arkana Road.
The vehicles involved in the chase were reported to have been traveling at “an extremely high rate of speed.” The witness said the truck appeared to be pushing the car, or following so closely it made it seem like the vehicles were touching.
The man said when he first met the truck and car; they were both coming at him in his lane of traffic.
He said he told his grandchildren to brace themselves as he started to drive into a ditch to avoid a collision.
However, the vehicles involved in the chase swerved back into their lane of travel.
The incident happened about a mile from the fatal crash scene.
Adams’ truck reportedly struck Laurie’s car from the rear knocking it into a ditch. The vehicle careened through the ditch until it hit the edge of a driveway causing it to become airborne.
While in the air, the vehicle struck a tree that reportedly caused fatal injuries to Laurie and serious injuries to Lamphear.
After the vehicles came to rest, a male voice believed to be that of Adams is heard on the 911 tape asking, “Danielle, are you alright?”
When sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene of the fatal accident, it was “quickly determined” Laurie had died from his injuries.
Lamphear was taken to a trauma center out of the area for treatment of her injuries.
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