Brookland, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Police arrested a Jonesboro man after they said he grabbed the steering wheel of a moving vehicle during an argument over baby wipes, causing the car to crash into a ditch and roll over with his girlfriend and baby inside.
District Judge Tommy Fowler found probable cause Sept. 14 to charge 21-year-old Eayn Obryan Wright with three class D felonies:
- Two counts of aggravated assault on a family or household member
- One count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor
According to the probable cause affidavit, Brookland police were dispatched to East School Street and Missouri Street at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 for a motor vehicle accident with entrapment. Officer Eric Stephens arrived to find a white vehicle turned upside down on its roof with a woman standing outside.
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The woman informed the officer that her boyfriend, Wright, and her baby were still inside the vehicle. Stephens helped the two remaining occupants out of the ditch and placed them in his patrol car to escape the extreme heat. Police confirmed no one was injured in the crash, and all parties refused medical treatment when EMS arrived.
When asked what happened, Wright initially claimed the vehicle’s steering locked as they crossed the railroad tracks, causing the car to run off the road and roll over. The affidavit noted this seemed suspicious to Stephens because the vehicle looked to be brand new.
The officer then questioned the girlfriend, who initially stared out the windshield in silence before telling the officer to “just ask him,” police recalled.
The affidavit said Stephens again pressed for her account of the incident, as he sensed something was wrong. She explained that she and Wright had argued over baby wipes, and she was turning around to go back to her apartment to prove she did not have any. As she crossed the railroad tracks, Wright reached up from the back passenger seat and grabbed the steering wheel, causing the crash.
After being placed in a patrol vehicle, Wright admitted to the officer that he grabbed the wheel. According to the affidavit, he said they were arguing about the wipes, and when she ignored his demands to stop the car and let him out, he reached up and grabbed the wheel.
Wright was arrested at 3:56 p.m. and booked into the Craighead County Detention Center on a $15,000 commercial bond. The inmate roster shows he was released the following day at 4 p.m.
At Monday’s probable cause hearing, Wright was ordered to have no contact with the victims in the case. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 26.
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