Arkansas hit and run driver fled the scene with dead body of victim in back of his pickup
(Image credit: Fort Smith Police Department, Facebook)
On February 19, the Police Department in Fort Smith, Arkansas, reported that on Friday, February 18, at approximately 8:01 p.m., a bicyclist was struck by a motorist who fled the scene at Grand Avenue between North 14th and North 16th Streets. Around 7 a.m. on the morning of February 19, Fort Smith Police received a call that a human body part was discovered by the roadway near the scene of the accident.
Officers responded and confirmed the body part was indeed human and that a serious accident had gone down.
Area surveillance footage confirmed that a pedestrian on a bicycle was struck by a pickup truck in the westbound lane of Grand Avenue. The Police Department’s Accident Reconstruction Unit responded to the scene along with Detectives.
After their preliminary investigation, 42-year-old James Ray Jones was developed as a suspect. Police Officers located Jones’ pickup truck in the backyard of his home. Officers also located the body of the deceased bicyclist – which was still in the bed of the pickup truck.
Jones was taken into custody and transported to police headquarters for questioning. He ended up giving police a full confession and was arrested at the conclusion of the interview and charged with Manslaughter and Leaving the Scene Of A Personal Injury Accident. He was then booked on those charges at the Sebastian County Jail.
The victim has been identified and attempts are being made to notify next of kin.
Police didn’t say what body part was found at the scene. For more on this tragic and macabre story, see the video accompanying this article.
(Source: Fort Smith Police Department / James Ray Jones mugshot: Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
