A Lyon College student died Saturday, Sept. 11, after witnesses say he drove his car into Bryan Lake on the school’s campus.
According to a press release, authorities from the Batesville Police Department and the Independence County Sheriff’s Department were called to the scene as witnesses were attempting to extract the driver. Upon arrival, officers also attempted to rescue the driver — identified in the release as Sonny Jade Pham, 21, of Batesville — from the vehicle, but were unsuccessful.
The Independence County Dive Team responded to the incident and extracted Pham and the vehicle from the water. Personnel from Vital Link and the Batesville Fire Department were unsuccessful in their attempts to revive Pham, according to authorities.
The release from the Batesville Police Department said Pham was recently married, was an off-campus student at Lyon, and an employee at Walmart.
The sheriff’s department had put out a BOLO on the lookout for Pham over the weekend. Pham’s wife had contacted authorities to report he had left after an argument and she was concerned for his safety, the release said.
The release also noted investigators from the Batesville Police Department said they had uncovered evidence to support the incident as being an apparent suicide.
Pham’s body has been sent to the Arkansas Medical Examiner for an autopsy.
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