The Associated Press
Forrest City, Ark. (AP) -- A former Pulaski County deputy sheriff faces a manslaughter charge in St. Francis County stemming from a May interstate accident that killed his passenger.
Joshua Plemmons, 25, of Little Rock appeared before St. Francis County District Judge Steve Routon on Monday and was released on his own recognizance.
John Rehrauer, a spokesman for the Pulaski County sheriff’s office in Little Rock, said Plemmons resigned from the department last week. He said Plemmons had worked for the department since April 2001.
Plemmons is charged in a May 2 wreck that killed a passenger in his Pontiac Firebird, Kerry L. Patton, 24, of Mablevale. The accident occurred on Interstate 40 near Shell Lake.
According to a state police report, Plemmons was driving west behind two tractor-trailers traveling virtually side-by-side. To pass them, the report said, Plemmons moved onto the right shoulder of the highway.
However, at about the same time, the truck in the left-hand lane pulled slightly ahead and moved to the right as Plemmons tried to enter the roadway from the shoulder.
State police said the truck that merged toward Plemmons -- driven by Michael G. Buteau Jr. of Greenville, Ohio -- not only moved from the left to the right-hand lane, but also onto the right-hand shoulder in front of Plemmons.
The report said Plemmons veered into the grass along the right side of the interstate to avoid a collision. He lost control and his car crossed both westbound lanes and the median before striking the rear end of an eastbound tractor-trailer, knocking the rear axle off the trailer and tearing the Firebird in half.
The rear end of the Firebird was then struck by an eastbound pickup truck, injuring a passenger. Patton was thrown from the vehicle onto the eastbound shoulder. Neither she nor Plemmons was wearing a seat belt, state police said.
Plemmons was airlifted to the Med Center in Memphis, Tenn. He was arrested on the manslaughter charge June 1.
Neither trucker stopped after the accident, but Buteau was later located on Interstate 30 near Hope, 228 miles from the scene of the wreck. He was charged with manslaughter May 17 and also is free on his own recognizance. The second truck driver has never been identified.
Both Plemmons and Buteau also are defendants in a lawsuit filed May 10 by Patton’s estate. The lawsuit alleges Plemmons was negligent for making an illegal pass and failing to maintain control of his vehicle. It accuses Buteau of failing to properly be aware of traffic around him and driving recklessly.