On Wednesday, the Fort Smith Police Department announced the end result of a plea deal in the hit-and-run case involving 50-year-old James Edward Swinson in early September.
The incident took place on South 21st Street and resulted in serious injuries to 69-year-old pedestrian Linda Pulach, who was walking her dog at the time,
After a two-week investigation, police were able to identify the vehicle involved and its registered owner, Swinson. Swinson was arrested and taken into custody on charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death, habitual offender, petition to revoke, and contempt-willful disobedience
Swinson, who has remained jailed on a $50,000 bail since his September arrest, has an extensive criminal background and was arrested on a Felony Failure to Appear charge in May of 2019. He has a litany of misdemeanor convictions over the years, mainly minor contempt and failure to pay fines charges.
On November 13, Swinson pled guilty to the charge of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident involving serious injury or death. He was sentenced to 25 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) and received a 15-year suspended imposition of sentence (SIS).
