HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – An 18-year-old Hot Springs man was charged Tuesday with five counts of first-degree battery after prosecutors say he fled a state trooper at about 120 mph and crashed, seriously injuring all five of his passengers.
Four of the passengers were juveniles.
Kaleb Jeremy Paul O’Loughlin is also charged in Garland County Circuit Court with felony fleeing, driving on a suspended license and driving without headlights at night.
First-degree battery and the fleeing count are Class B felonies. Each is punishable by five to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
One of the juveniles, a girl, was flown to a children’s hospital with a traumatic brain injury and was in an induced coma for two months, Arkansas State Police Trooper Richard Davis wrote in a probable cause affidavit dated July 30.
She was awake but could not speak or walk and was still in intensive care, the affidavit said.
“It is unknown if she will ever be able to talk or walk again,” Davis wrote.
The pursuit began at 11:07 p.m. April 18, according to the affidavit. Davis wrote that a silver Toyota Avalon had fled from Hot Springs police, who ended their pursuit near MLK Boulevard and Airport Road.
The affidavit does not say why police tried to stop the car.
The Avalon passed Davis in the 2100 block of Airport Road heading west at about 120 mph with its headlights off, he wrote. He turned on his lights and siren and went after it.
The car ran a red light and again reached about 120 mph as it neared the intersection of U.S. Highway 70 West and Adam Brown Road, the affidavit said.
Near Dusty Lane, the Avalon went into a left-hand curve and nearly hit an eastbound vehicle head-on, Davis wrote.
Shortly afterward, in the 4100 block of Highway 70 West, the car left the right side of the road and struck a culvert at a private driveway.
Three boys and a girl, all juveniles, were in the car with an 18-year-old passenger, according to the affidavit. Three of the juveniles and the driver were thrown from the car. The 18-year-old was trapped in the rear floorboard.
The 18-year-old was flown to UAMS for surgery with a traumatic brain injury, a brain bleed and a broken back, right leg and collarbone, Davis wrote.
One juvenile had broken vertebrae and a cut to his right leg. Another had a spinal fracture and cuts to his face. A third had a fractured hip, a collapsed lung and broken ribs, according to the affidavit.
A citation Davis wrote lists a radar reading of 105 mph in a 50 mph zone.
O’Loughlin was also badly hurt. In an April 22 court filing in a separate case, his attorney, Josh Hurst, wrote that O’Loughlin was in a coma at CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs with a fractured spine, a broken neck and a traumatic brain injury.
Hurst wrote that O’Loughlin was expected to need months of rehabilitation “in order to perform the simplest tasks such as walking and talking.”
A district judge issued warrants for O’Loughlin’s arrest July 31. He was arrested Aug. 14, court records show.
O’Loughlin appeared by video Aug. 17 in Garland County District Court, where a judge found probable cause and set bond at $150,000. He was released Aug. 23 after posting bond, according to court records.
A clerk’s note in the district court file says O’Loughlin’s mother came to the clerk’s office the day of his arrest and said he requires 24-hour care and could not be in jail.
At the time of the crash, O’Loughlin was free on bond in Hot Spring County, where he is charged as an adult with aggravated residential burglary, theft of property and criminal mischief.
Prosecutors there allege that O’Loughlin, acting with others, kicked in the door of an occupied home in the Malvern area on Oct. 13, 2025, and took a PlayStation and a speaker. He was 17 at the time.
A judge set a $5,000 signature bond in that case in November with an ankle monitor and house arrest, court records show. An agreed order in December allowed the ankle monitor to be removed and left the other bond conditions in place.
That case had been set for trial May 21. It was continued after the crash and is set for a hearing Oct. 7.
A notice of intent to raise the defense of mental disease or defect was filed Sept. 17 in the Hot Spring County case, according to the docket.
Davis also cited O’Loughlin for reckless driving, speeding and other traffic offenses. Those citations are pending in district court.
Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Lawrence filed the charges Tuesday. The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Meredith Switzer.
No hearing date or defense attorney was listed in the circuit court case Tuesday.
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