Driver of vehicle in fatal hit and run booked

A Mountain Home woman has been arrested in connection with the hit-and-run death of then 27-year-old William “Billy” Herrmann in mid-October last year.

According to the Baxter County Detention Center log, 62-year-old Sarah Alsup was booked into the facility at 11:16 p.m. Saturday and released about 30 minutes later on a $10,000 bond. The charge listed is leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

According to police reports, Herrmann was attempting to cross U.S. Highway 62B at a point between Wendy’s and City Nails just after 9 p.m. October 18 last year when he was struck by Alsup’s 2000 GMC Sierra pickup truck and thrown onto the east end of the parking lot of City Nails.

Despite efforts to resuscitate him, Herrmann was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was employed at Wendy’s.

Alsup was reported not to have stopped. She continued traveling east until she pulled into the parking lot of White Oak Station at 1124 Highway 62B East. She left that business and drove to a Chinese restaurant in the East Center shopping complex, a short distance from the convenience store.

When she left the restaurant parking lot she turned to the west and is reported to have driven past the accident site where officers and first responders were still actively working the incident and went to her residence.

Witnesses provided a partial license number for the suspect vehicle and officers were able to contact Alsup several hours after the incident.

According to the police, a witness saw Alsup’s truck as it passed by the site heading west after visiting the convenience store and the Chinese restaurant. The witness told officers it was the vehicle that had struck the victim.

Alsup is reported to have said she believed a deer had “darted” in front of her vehicle.

Under Arkansas law, a pedestrian is supposed to cross a highway at a designated crosswalk. If the pedestrian is crossing at a point other than a designated crosswalk, the pedestrian must yield to oncoming traffic.

Incident reports do not indicate if Alsup made any effort to check her vehicle for damages due to what she said she believed was a collision with a deer in the vicinity of Wendy’s and City Nail.

Another major question is why when driving past the accident site and seeing police and first responders on scene did Alsup not stop to see what had happened since that is where she claimed she hit what she believed was a deer.

Leaving the scene of a fatal injury accident can be charged as a Class B or Class D Felony. The major elements to be proven are that the defendant was driving the vehicle, failed to stop, did not remain at the scene or provide information to law enforcement and did not render aid to the victim.

Also, the failure to abide by the requirements must have been knowing or reckless. Penalties for Class B and Class D felonies both carry the potential for prison time, fines or both.

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