Damages Awarded In ATV Accident Upheld By Arkansas Subcommittee

A legislative subcommittee has upheld a $1.5 million award the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is to pay a Des Arc man.

Thirty-three-year-old Jeremy Kirkland was injured when he crashed an ATV into a 3-foot-deep ditch dug by AHTD crews on a Prairie County road. The department has been found to have been negligent for failing to post warning signs.

Department attorney David Dawson argued that the accident was Kirkland’s fault. Dawson said Kirkland was violating state law that prohibits ATV’s from public roads unless used in farming or hunting – to get from one field to another.

Kirkland is a farmer and was driving home.

The award will next be considered by the Joint Budget Committee during the legislative session beginning Feb. 8.