On Wednesday the Walnut Ridge Police Department arrested Andrea Spradling on charges of Negligent Homicide. The arrest was made after the police department obtained an affidavit for a warrant based on reasonable cause. Spradling was the driver of one of the vehicles involved in a crash in Walnut Ridge on Monday that claimed the life of Carmen Slayton of Walnut Ridge.
Included in the affidavit, investigators state that the vehicle driven by Spradling made no attempt to stop and was traveling at a high rate of speed. Officers on the scene also observed a beer can in the floor of the vehicle driven by Spradling. According to the report, officers also smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Spradling as she was being loaded in the ambulance. Also included in the affidavit, Spradling allegedly told officers that she had been drinking, claiming to have had “one beer, one shot and one Bloody Maryâ€. Spradling was flown by a medical helicopter to a hospital after the accident, but was released. Once the Affidavit for Warrant was obtained, investigators requested that she come to the Walnut Ridge Police Department for questioning, after the interview Spradling was arrested by the Walnut Ridge Police Department and transported to the Lawrence County Jail to await a Bond Hearing.
Investigators are awaiting a full toxicology report on Andrea Spradling. Spradling has multiple arrest on her record including a DWI arrest in Craighead County in 2009. For more information on the Walnut Ridge Police Department visit www.cityofwalnutridge.com .