Plea deal made in fatal crash

Bryant driver who hit man sentenced

A Bryant man who killed a 67-year-old Little Rock pedestrian in a drunk-driving collision two years ago accepted an eight-year prison sentence on Tuesday for negligent homicide.

Court records show Raul Vicente-Orellana, who turns 55 today, pleaded guilty to the Class B felony charge, which carries five to 10 years in prison, in exchange for Pulaski County Circuit Judge Cathi Compton imposing deputy prosecutor Victoria Wadley’s recommended sentence. Vicente-Orellana was represented by defense attorney Birc Morledge.

James Don Ladd Sr. died in the early afternoon collision along an Interstate 30 frontage road in Little Rock in September 2020. According to state police, Vicente-Orellana was driving a 2008 Chevrolet pickup west on I-30 while Ladd, who was homeless, had been walking on the frontage road near the Otter Creek exit.

Vicente-Orellana hit the concrete median north of the exit ramp, over-corrected, then hit the southern barrier. Moving north, he left the roadway and hit a large pine tree on the north side of the road, which sent his vehicle into a spin before it rolled over. The back of the spinning truck hit Ladd, who was standing at the treeline, in the head, stomach and legs. Vincente-Orellana’s blood-alcohol level was 0.235, almost three times the legal limit of 0.08.

An admitted heavy drinker, Vicente-Orellana said he gave up alcohol after killing Ladd, court filings show.

Ladd was a father of three with six grandchildren. In June 1984, Ladd’s first child, his 10-year-old namesake son who was living in Arlington, Texas, James “Jamie” Don Ladd, was hit and killed by a truck while crossing the street in North Richland Hills, Texas.