A man has been arrested on charges of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence in connection with a one-vehicle crash that resulted in the death of passenger Paula Soens.
The Chattanooga Police Department’s Fugitive Unit and U.S. Marshals Service arrested James Bernard, 53, in the Atlanta area Wednesday, according to a press release from the Chattanooga Police Department.
The charges stem from a Sept. 25, 2025, wreck on Spring Road, where Bernard allegedly drove a Dodge Caravan off the road and ran into a tree.
Both Bernard and Soens had to be freed from the vehicle. Bernard sustained serious injuries and was taken to a hospital by Hamilton County EMS.
Bernard was not taken into custody after his hospitalization because the results from his toxicology report had not come back, Elisa Myzal, spokesperson for the Police Department, said in an email. The results came back weeks later, and investigators waited on results to charge Bernard accurately, Myzal said.