Man pleads no contest in Wyoming crash that killed Sylvan Hills students in 2023, mother looks toward healing
GREENBRIER, Ark.- It’s been nearly 16 months since five Sylvan Hills students were killed in a car crash that happened as the group was driving back from Wyoming. But just this week, one parent of a teen killed said her healing can finally begin.
Officials said the man charged in connection to their death appeared in court on Monday and agreed to a plea deal, something Sarah Wimberly said is the first step to healing.
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“They said all five, that was the phone call that came through, so that was a really hard night,” Wimberly said.
January 22, 2023, is a night Sarah Wimberly said she will never forget.
Her daughter Ava Luplow, Suzy and Andrea Prime, Salomon Correa, and Maggie Franco, were killed in a car crash in Carbon County, Wyoming, coming back from Jackson Hole Bible College.
“I think a lot of us, at this, are just ready to kind of start the justice process,” Wimberly said.
According to the Carbon County District Court, 58-year-old Arthur Andrew Nelson signed a plea deal and pleaded no contest to 6 charges including five counts of aggravated homicide by vehicle. He’s also accused of being under the influence of drugs while driving.
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According to the affidavit, his car was driving the wrong way down an interstate when a semi-truck trying to avoid Nelson’s car collided with the car carrying the five Sherwood friends.
“We want to make sure he doesn’t hurt any other families because it has destroyed a lot of lives,” Wimberly said.
Wimberly said they’re all working toward forgiveness. But what keeps her going day after day is knowing the forever home, they’re in now.
“Because they lived their life for Christ, we knew that they were in heaven and we knew that they lived their life the way God meant for them to live their life, that really helped us,” Wimberly said.
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Above all else, they want their children to be remembered for their love of Christ and others.
As far as Nelson, officials said his sentencing should take place in the next 90 days.
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