A 21-year-old Rogers woman died Thursday morning after the car she was riding in hit a tree on Viney Grove Road in Prairie Grove.
Arkansas State Police identified the woman as Samantha Lynn Wesson.
Police identified the driver as James Paul Barber, 29, of 17701 Bethel Blacktop Road in Lincoln.
Barber was arrested in connection with felony negligent homicide, driving on a suspended license and careless/prohibited driving.
According to an accident report, Wesson was riding in the front passenger seat of a 1992 Chevrolet Lumina driven by Barber.
Barber was traveling south when he ran off the right side of Viney Grove Road, near Bethel Blacktop Road, about 12:30 a.m.
Police said he lost control, slid sideways and struck a tree on the passenger side. Wesson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Barber told police he was driving south on Viney Grove Road when a silver Chevrolet truck struck his vehicle. He reportedly mentioned several times, without being asked, he wasn’t intoxicated and hadn’t done anything wrong.
An officer said Barber smelled of alcohol when he interviewed him at Washington Regional Medical Center.
A portable breath test reported Barber had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11, according to the report. The legal limit of intoxication is 0.08.
Barber was in the Washington County Detention Center on $648 bond Thursday.