A harrowing car ride came to an abrupt end Monday when a Toyota Corolla slammed into a tree on the bank of McKissick Creek in north Bentonville.
The driver and passenger, both women, were taken from the scene by ambulance to a hospital. The women, strapped to backboards and fitted with protective collars, were alert and moving their hands.
A witness at the scene said the blue Corolla, which had a Kansas license plate, veered out of traffic at U.S. Highway 71 and McNelly Road.
The witness said the car, moving at a high rate of speed, suddenly turned onto County Road 40, clipping the witness's car. The Corolla then became airborne when it reached an embankment, sailing into a parking lot. Tracks indicate the car continued across a grassy area before crashing through an unoccupied office building.
The car went out the back corner of the building, flying over a walking trail and slamming into the tree.
Firefighters from Bella Vista and Bentonville secured the car with a chain to keep it from sliding into the creek before removing the two women from the car.
The car traveled more than 700 feet from the intersection to its resting place.