FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A Farmington man has been arrested for negligent homicide and battery after allegedly causing a head-on collision while intoxicated, killing a child and injuring five others.
Alexander Rios-Rodriguez, 27, was arrested and booked into the Washington County jail on Jan. 30. He was released nearly two hours later on a $25,000 bond.
Rios-Rodriguez is accused of negligent homicide and three counts of second-degree battery, according to a criminal information sheet filed by prosecutors in Washington County.
The information sheet claims that Rios-Rodriguez was intoxicated while driving the vehicle.
A crash report from the Arkansas Department of Public Safety says that on Jan. 14 at around 4:35 a.m., Rios-Rodriguez was driving eastbound in the westbound lane of Fulbright Expressway when he collided front to front with a vehicle being driven by a 39-year-old from Fort Smith.
A child of an undisclosed age was killed in the crash, and a total of five people, including Rios-Rodriguez, were injured. Court documents say that multiple victims were in critical condition.
An affidavit says that after the victims were transported to local hospitals, a trooper contacted one of them, who recalled that he "could not remember much besides riding down the highway and hitting something really hard."
The affidavit says that the victim told police that he did not know the driver or front passenger and that he had ordered an Uber.
Rios-Rodriguez later met with the trooper and consented to a blood sample after officers suspected he was under the influence of alcohol. He told the trooper that he was leaving a party in Rogers and had admitted to drinking that night, according to court documents.
The affidavit says that the trooper observed "red, watery eyes, and that he could smell the odor of intoxicants."
Court documents say that Rios-Rodriguez claimed he thought he was taking the exit and did not realize he was driving the wrong way on the highway.
Rios-Rodriguez is expected in court on Feb. 12.
5NEWS will update this story as more information becomes available.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.