Lawrence County Judge recovering after near-fatal car wreck

Lawrence County Judge Dale Freeman has made a startling recovery after a near fatal car crash Wednesday.

Freeman, 75, has had two surgeries to repair a broken neck, and is no longer in a medically induced coma, Talk Business & Politics has learned. Freeman is still in intensive care at a Little Rock area hospital. He is expected to be moved to a regular hospital room in the next few days, according to family members.

The judge was responsive Monday morning, but has remained heavily sedated. Doctors don’t think he’ll be paralyzed as a result of the broken neck he suffered. A timetable for him to return to work has not been set.

Freeman, who has been the judge since 2011, was southbound on U.S. 67 near Cabot at about 5 a.m. when his truck veered off the roadway, and flipped into a ditch, according to Arkansas State Police. Freeman had to be extricated from his vehicle. No other injuries were reported as a result of the crash.

The judge was reportedly on his way to visit a friend in the hospital when the crash occurred. That same friend came to wish him well this weekend, according to the family.

Freeman was re-elected earlier this year after he won the Democratic primary in the county. He previously served as the mayor in Portia.