A driver who was involved in a highway collision that killed an Arkansas man and a 4-year-old boy pleaded guilty this month to negligent homicide and second-degree battery, the Texarkana Gazette reported Wednesday.
Samuel Maroon, 52, of Ashdown was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the Feb. 9 crash, which also injured three others.
Shortly after 10 p.m. on the night of the collision, Maroon was traveling south on U.S. 71 south of Wilton when his GMC truck crossed the centerline and struck a 2011 Ford Focus head-on, authorities said.
The Focus driver, 34-year-old Jesus Rubio of De Queen, was pronounced dead at the scene. His 4-year-old son, who was a passenger in the car, died hours later.
According to a police report, Maroon's blood was collected investigators and determined his blood-alcohol level to be 0.20 percent, which is more than twice the legal limit for driving.
Maroon, who entered the plea on Sept. 4, remained in the Little River County jail on Tuesday pending transfer to a state prison when a bed becomes available.