Trumann woman killed in wreck on U.S. 63 which claims lives of five, injures five others

Emergency personell inspect what is left ot the Focus, Inc. van which collided head on with a PT Cruiser last Wednesday afternoon. (Photos provided by KAIT-8)

She was quick to smile, loved the people she worked with and could always be counted on to make something good happen when things went wrong.

"She was the one that everyone kind of leaned on and talked to," said Amy Harmon, program supervisor for Focus Inc. in Trumann. "She was very caring and compassionate with her clients and made everybody smile."

Austin, 26, of 824 North Ozark Ave., was killed last Wednesday in a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 63 that claimed the lives of five people and injured five others.

Austin was driving a transport van carrying several developmentally disabled clients of Focus Inc. when it was struck head-on shortly after 2 p.m. by a maroon PT Cruiser driving on the wrong side of the road just north of the Nestle Road exit.

The 2008 Ford 450 van, which had nine passengers, was returning to Jonesboro from the Focus Adult Development Center in Trumann when the accident occurred. Focus Inc. is a Jonesboro-based nonprofit organization that provides services to disabled children and adults.

Several witnesses who called the Craighead County E-911 Center reported the PT Cruiser was traveling at a high rate of speed driving southbound in the northbound lane on the interstate.

Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said the PT cruiser struck the van head on.

Gary Russell of Smithville, who witnessed the crash, told the Jonesboro Sun he saw the van swerve at the last minute. The van went over the top of the PT Cruiser, exploded and tumbled through the air and across the road where it landed upside down in a ditch, according to Russell.

The driver of the PT Cruiser, Heath Bakken, 28, of 3516 Beacon Street, Jonesboro was killed in the resulting collision.

The remains of the PT Cruiser driven by Heath Bakken which, last Wednesday hit head-on with a van from Focus, Inc. Five were killed int he collision. (Photos provided by KAIT-8)

Three of the van's passengers along with Austin were also killed: Gerald Brown, 56, 3909 Hill Drive, Jonesboro; Michael Lane, 34, 2004 North Patrick, Jonesboro and Anthony Vaughn, 25, of 1706 Warner, Jonesboro.

Five other passengers in the van were injured and transported to hospitals in Memphis and Jonesboro.

The injured were Jonathan Vaughn, 29, 1706 Warner Ave., Jonesboro; Regina James, 34, 208 North Rogers St, Jonesboro; Steve Farmer, 41, 1231 East Johnson, Jonesboro; Keenan Wilson, 36, 3016 North Church St., Jonesboro and Brian Parnell, 32, of County Road 769, Jonesboro.

Arkansas State Police Spokesman Bill Sadler said the accident is still under investigation but the driver's father, Paul Bakken of Des Moines, Iowa, told the Jonesboro Sun that his son was diabetic and may have experienced a diabetic episode which caused him to become unaware of his surroundings at the time of the accident.

Harmon said employees of Focus Inc. are still in a state of disbelief.

"Everybody is taking it really hard," Harmon said.

Focus Inc. in Trumann resumed normal business hours Monday.

Harmon said Austin will be greatly missed.

"She was just an excellent person and a good employee," Harmon said. "She had a lot of friends."