*UPDATE* Driver was drunk in accident that killed Sean Mabrey and Kathleen Mellinger, state police say

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[UPDATE 6/28/11: Dorothy Hill's blood alcohol level was 0.19, twice the legal limit, when her Mazda Miata struck the Toyota Corolla driven by Kathleen E. Mellinger with Sean Mabrey as a passenger, according to state crime laboratory results. Mellinger had not been drinking. Mabrey died at the scene and Mellinger died later at the hospital. The case will now be turned over to Prosecuting Attorney John Threet's office to determine if charges should be filed, Arkansas State Police Trooper Eric Lee said.]

[UPDATE 5/20/11: Arkansas State Police Trooper Eric Lee, the investigating officer, said it will be several weeks before the state crime lab returns the blood test results from those involved in the accident. The investigation is pending those results.]

[UPDATE - 5/18/11: Arkansas State Police confirmed that Kathleen E. Mellinger, 26, died this morning at Washington Regional Medical Center around 1:45 a.m.]

[CORRECTION: Sean Mabrey was the passenger of the Toyota Corolla driven by Kathleen E. Mellinger.]

Sean Phillip Mabrey, 26, died early Sunday after the Toyota Corolla he was riding in was struck head-on about 2 a.m. by a Mazda Miata headed north in the southbound lane of Interstate 540.

The Miata’s driver, Dorothy S. Hill, 40, and the Corolla’s driver, Kathleen E. Mellinger, 26, were injured in the accident and taken to Washington Regional Medical Center, according to Arkansas State Police.

Mabrey was a staple of Fayetteville’s theatrical community. This week he was set to perform in The Poe Show during TheatreSquared’s 2011 Arkansas New Play Fest.

Mabrey was a member of Fayetteville’s theater company, The Artist’s Laboratory. Mabrey, a University of Arkansas theater student from Tulsa, Okla., joined the company recently and turned in a well-lauded performance during the Sheet Fort Experience in April.

“It’s a huge loss for the city’s creative community,” Erika Wilhite, co-founder of The Artist’s Laboratory and a personal friend of Maybrey, said Sunday.

Wilhite said Mabrey’s bio was only recently added to the company’s website.

“When I found him I felt like I had struck gold. We were making big plans together,” she said.

“Such a loss.”

Christopher Spencer

Christopher Spencer, 36, is the publisher and owner of Ozarks Unbound and the food news site, The Fayetteville Food File. He is the chair of the Fayetteville Creative Economy Action Group and the social media chair of the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He's also the founder of WordCamp Fayetteville. You can always contact him at cspencer@ozarksunbound.com

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See our ongoing coverage: Artist's Laboratory Theatre, TheatreSquared

57 Comments

• Margaret says:

  January 27, 2012 at 6:00 pm

  @ Ricky Bobby, will you please download that file and send it to me? I cannot access the site and thus can’t get the file. I need that now for the fight to change the laws here, If you can do that, I would appreciate it. I don’t want to post my email address publicly.
• allison says:

  January 28, 2012 at 4:22 pm

  excuse me she was my teacher she is like a 2nd mom to me and i was wondering how i could send a letter to her thanks allison
• allison says:

  January 28, 2012 at 4:32 pm

  hey u guys i am her student and i cant see this happening because she is a great person to all of her kids at school so if u wanna make me cry i would stop because i am trying to deal with the loss of her we miss her lots and we still love her very much so thats all i got to say i <3 U miss hill
• Amy says:

  January 30, 2012 at 12:19 pm

  No one is trying to make you cry. You need to know who you are idolizing. I wouldn’t dare let one of my children near her, especially allow her to try and teach them morals. She’s not a good person if she knew she was doing wrong by hiding behind a building from the cops that night. It’s on video, she even turned her headlights off. We want people to learn from this and be better judges of people and their actions. Dorothy brought our family to their knees with pain. You have no idea.
• Amy says:

  February 10, 2012 at 7:05 am

  Dorothy S Hill was picked up by the sherriff yesterday and is beginning her time in the pen for killing my sister and her friend. She is at the McPhearson Detension Center by Newport. Now, we just have to keep her there.
• allison says:

  April 27, 2012 at 10:51 pm

  WELL I KNOW IT WAS YOUR SISTER AND I AM SO VERY SORRY BUT MY COUSIN DIED IN A CAR WRECK IN 1999 AND WE MISS HIM MORE BECAUSE HE DIED AND HE WAS NOT DRUNK BUT WE MISS HER AND HIM SO THERE THATS ALL I GOT TO SAY GOODBYE MRS.HILL I WILL NEVER SEE U AGAIN
• Amy says:

  May 14, 2012 at 11:04 pm

  Let it be known that my sister was 100% sober that night unlike Ms Hill. Not only did she have alcohol in her system she had opiates and pot. You need to do your homework before posting online. Its Ms Hill’s fault where she is. Shes where she belongs.

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