SILOAM SPRINGS (KFSM) — A Greenbrier man drove off after injuring a woman in an accident early Sunday (June 24) morning, leaving her trapped in her car for nearly an hour before a Benton County sheriff’s deputy discovered the wreckage, according to Arkansas State Police.
Alan Ballesteros-Torres, 31, was arrested in connection with driving while intoxicated, second-degree battery and leaving the scene of an injury accident.
A deputy driving down Old Highway 68 found the accident about 3:14 a.m. and called for medical assistance, according to state police.
Siloam Springs firefighters spent nearly 45 minutes extricating Valerie Berube, 49, from her car, which was heavily damaged with a “piece of another vehicle embedded in the rear,” according to state police.
Police discovered a wrecker had been called to the area about 2:30 a.m., which meant Berube spent about 45 minutes in her car before help even arrived.
Berube suffered 10 broken ribs, a broken wrist and a life-threatening aneurysm in her neck, according to her daughter, Autumn Audiss.
Audiss said her mother was in surgery for six hours as doctors fused some of her vertebrae back together. Audiss has has set up a GoFundMe to help with her mother’s medical bills.
Police traced the tow truck’s records to a home on Flynt Street, where Ballesteros-Torres was staying. Ballesteros-Torres said the other driver turned quickly, without signaling, and he rear-ended them.
He also told police he’d had five beers and may have fallen asleep before hitting the other car, according to an arrest report.
After the collision, Ballesteros-Torres said he drove his truck as far as it would go before getting a ride with a friend. He added that he didn’t see what happened to the other car or report the accident.
Police noted that Ballesteros-Torres failed all but one field sobriety test and had a blood-alcohol concentration of .11 at 7:15 a.m. Sunday — roughly five hours after the accident.
The legal limit is .08 in Arkansas.
Ballesteros-Torres is free on a $25,000 bond. He has a hearing set later this summer in Benton County Circuit Court.
