A Bentonville woman will spend the next two decades in prison after pleading guilty to crimes related to a 2024 crash that killed a Missouri man, according to court documents.
Caron Hardt, 68, pled guilty on September 2 to one count of negligent murder and driving under the influence. She was sentenced to 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
According to the preliminary report, Benton County deputies responded to a crash on November 14, 2024, near Arkansas 72 and Oak Tree Drive.
Hardt crossed the center line and sideswiped one car before crashing head on with another.
The driver of the other vehicle, Edward Gadient, 57, of Pineville, Mo., was taken to the hospital with leg injuries and later pronounced dead after going into cardiac arrest.
According to investigators, a toxicology report revealed that Hardt was intoxicated at the time of the incident, with a BAC of 0.09%.
Hardt was arrested on October 30, 2025, about a year after the tragedy.
In an interview with KNWA/FOX24, Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Sexton explained that it took some time to prosecute Hardt due to ongoing evidence gathering and questioning.It took a little longer, due to the nature of the evidence, than I believe anyone wanted,” Sexton explained. “However, once those questions were answered, we were able to approve it, get the warrant issued, get her picked up and get the process started.”
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