Updated 1:50pm: Details about injuries added, Anthony Johnson identified as another Marked Tree Police officer.
Marked Tree, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – A Marked Tree police officer was killed early Sunday morning in a traffic accident.
According to a social media post, Officer Trevor Howard, 25, of Marmaduke, was killed when the patrol vehicle he was a passenger in was struck by another vehicle at 2:40am Sunday morning causing the patrol vehicle to overturn.
Howard’s father, Don Howard, said in a post on Facebook that he received a call about his son shortly before 3am Sunday morning. “I received a call informing me that my first-born son, Trevor Howard, was involved in a car crash.”
“Though our family is devastated, we can take some comfort in knowing that he died doing what he loved and what he was called to do,” Don Howard wrote.
Arkansas State Police Trooper Brian Merrill said in his accident report that Howard was a passenger in a 2023 Dodge patrol vehicle driven by Officer Anthony Johnson, 22, of Paragould. The report said a 1996 Mercury driven by Kareem Jones, 28, of Marked Tree, failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 14 and Broadway in Marked Tree causing the patrol vehicle to overturn.
Arkansas State Police said in a Sunday afternoon post that Jones was airlifted to a Memphis hospital for treatment of “serious injuries.” Merrill’s accident report said Officer Johnson was taken to NEA Baptist Hospital with unknown injuries.
The Marked Tree Fire Department expressed sympathy in a social media post. “Rest easy, Officer. Your watch is over—we’ll take it from here.”
Neighboring communities also shared similar posts.
“Our hearts are with the members of the Marked Tree Police Department, the family, friends, and loved ones of Officer Trevor Howard, and the entire community of Marked Tree as they mourn this unimaginable loss,” expressed a post on the Trumann Police Department Facebook page.