At approximately 2:15 p.m. Saturday, September 17, officers with the Benton Police Department responded to a two vehicle accident at Military and Lincoln. Upon arrival, witnesses said one of the driver’s fled on foot with two juveniles.
During the course of the investigation, officers gathered information linking 36-year-old Brian Christopher Smith of Benton as the driver who fled the scene on foot. Smith was later located by Saline County Sheriff’s deputies and was taken into custody by the deputies for an active warrant for hot check violations.
Smith later admitted to Benton officers of being the driver of the wrecked vehicle at Military and Lincoln. He reportedly told officers that he fled due to having the active warrants. Officers also found that the juveniles had suffered minor injuries from the accident. Officers sent the report to the Arkansas Police Department’s Child Abuse Hotline for review.
Smith was taken to the Saline County Detention Center and faces charges of Leaving the Scene of an Accident, class D felony; two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Minor, class D felony; No Child Safety Seat; Driving with a Suspended Driver’s License; Unsafe Driving (city ordinance); and he was served two warrants with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office and one warrant with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver of the other vehicle was transported to the Saline Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to contact the Benton Police Department at 501-778-1171 or 501-315-TIPS. Individuals also may send us an anonymous crime tip about this incident to CRIMES (274637) with the keyword BNPD in the body of the text or go to www.crimereports.com to leave a tip. A crime tip can also be submitted via the official Benton Police Department app found on ITunes and Google Play.
Any suspects listed are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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