Man charged with driving while intoxicated, causing serious injuries in fiery crash

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Arthur Acklin, 42, of Clarkridge, Arkansas, in connection with his alleged actions that led to a Feb. 22, fiery two-vehicle crash on J Highway and the resulting injuries of the passenger of the other vehicle. When arrested, he is to be held without bond until further notice of the court, online records show. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. C. Hogue, at 2:06 p.m. Feb. 22, the officer arrived on the scene of a two-vehicle crash on J Highway south of Lick Creek with reported injuries. Hogue had been informed prior to his arrival that one of the vehicles was on fire. 

Ozark County Deputies Seth Miller and Josh Sherman and MSHP Trooper John Roberts arrived on scene before Hogue, who made it to the crash scene at 2:06 p.m. By that time, both lanes of Highway J was closed to traffic, and firefighters were extinguishing flames that had broken out in a 2007 Nissan Quest van bearing an Arkansas registration checked to Misty Ackroyd, who had the same address on file as Acklin.

“There was a huge cloud of smoke from the fire that was resulting in little to no visibility. I made contact with witness Linda Westmoreland, who advised the van had passed her at a dangerous location southbound on Route J. Westmoreland estimated the van to be traveling 90 miles per hour, and she said it was driving erratically and going around corners on the wrong side of the road,” Hogue’s report reads. “I made contact with Trooper Roberts and Deputy Miller who advised they smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Mr. Acklin. Trooper Roberts said he thought Mr. Acklin might be intoxicated.”

Deputy Miller told Hogue that the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department had received a call earlier that day from someone who reported that Acklin was sleeping in his van at the Bullseye gas pumps in Gainesville. Miller said Acklin was asked to move away from the pumps after the call.

The officers determined that Acklin, who was traveling southbound on J Highway, was driving on the centerline when he crested a hill just past the Lick Creek bridge and hit a 2012 Toyota Tundra head-on. The Tundra was driven by 63-year-old Edward Grayden, of Zanoni, and 60-year-old Christina Grayden, also of Zanoni, was riding as a passenger. 

“I made contact with Mr. Acklin. Mr. Acklin was laying in the northbound lane of Route J with a neck brace on, and the Ozark County Ambulance crew was working to get him on a backboard. I recognized Mr. Acklin and I knew he had a history of drug abuse and driving while intoxicated. I asked Mr. Acklin what happened and he replied, ‘I’m not sure.’ I asked Mr. Acklin if he had been drinking or taking drugs, and he said he had not been drinking, and he had taken Xanax. I observed Mr. Acklin’s eyes were blood shot and glassy, and he had droopy eyelids,” Hogue wrote. 

Acklin reportedly failed to give a valid breath sample for the preliminary breath test the officers administered in order to test his intoxication level. Hogue then gave Acklin the horizontal gaze nystagmus, a test that allows offers to view a jerking or stuttering type of movement in a person’s eyes that occurs as the result of consuming alcohol or other nervous system depressants. 

“...he had no smooth pursuit and distinct nystagmus at maximum deviation in both eyes,” Hogue reported. 

Hogue placed Acklin under arrest and read him the implied consent. Acklin told the officer he would submit to a chemical test of his blood. At 2:27 p.m., paramedic James Lannan obtained two tubes of blood from Acklin’s right arm. The blood was sent to the MSHP crime lab for drug and alcohol analysis. 

Both Graydens were taken by Ozark County Ambulance to Baxter Health in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Mr. Grayden later told Hogue that his wife was transferred from there to a Springfield hospital with serious physical injuries that included a punctured lung and extensive bruising.

Hogue asked Mr. Grayden about the crash, and he reportedly told the officer, “The guy was coming up the hill pretty fast. His head was up, and then his head dropped down... he crossed the center line and hit us.”

Mr. Grayden said that after the van caught fire after the collision, he went to it, cut Acklin’s seat belt off of him and pulled him out of the burning vehicle. 

Due to the serious physical injuries sustained in the crash, Hogue contacted MSHP Sgt. Gruben with the department’s crash team. Gruben advised Hogue that he would begin the crash reconstruction.

A computer check of Acklin revealed that his driver’s license was revoked for a chemical revocation dated Aug. 18, 2017. Acklin also had three other active license suspensions, Hogue noted. Acklin was convicted of driving while intoxicated in Ozark County on April 9, 2014, was convicted of driving without a driver’s license in Springfield on April 15, 2019, and was convicted again of driving with no driver’s license in Ozark County on Jan. 26, 2023. Acklin also has a suspended license in Arkansas.