HOT SPRINGS -- A Hot Springs man faces a charge of negligent homicide after the release of toxicology test results in a single-vehicle crash in April that killed a passenger, court records show.
Austin Tilmon Meeks, 21, was taken into custody Sept. 20 and charged with negligent homicide, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He was released later on $2,500 bond.
According to the affidavit, shortly after 12:15 a.m. April 10, Arkansas State Police Trooper Brandon Margis responded to a one-vehicle wreck on Arkansas 192 north of Mountain Pine.
Meeks, the driver of a 2008 Chevrolet pickup, was traveling west on Arkansas 192 when he left the roadway, authorities said. He lost control after overcorrecting, sending his vehicle across both lanes to the south side of the roadway, authorities said. The vehicle ran into some trees, ejecting Meeks and his passenger, Dayton Garner, 22.
Garner was pronounced dead at the scene by Garland County Coroner Stuart Smedley. A fatality report noted there was light rain falling and that the roadway was wet.
Meeks was transported to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs, where a blood sample was taken and sent to the state Crime Laboratory. The blood sample recorded a blood-alcohol content of 0.1 percent, records show. Medical records from St. Vincent revealed that Meeks' blood-alcohol content was 0.17 percent after he was transported to the hospital.
State Desk on 10/02/2016