Two men were injured when their pickup truck left the road
and struck a tree near Cotton Patch on State Highway 38 recently. Woodruff
County Deputy Dovey Snyder reported the accident shortly after midnight Monday.
Thurston Poole, 33, of Des Arc, and Billy Ray Wallis, 38, of
Little Rock, were returning to Des Arc after a frog-gigging trip. On an
overcast Sunday night, Poole's pickup truck headlights malfunctioned. The two
men concluded that the headlight fuse on the older-model truck had burned out.
As a replacement fuse was not available, Wallis noticed that the 22 calibre
bullets from his pistol fitted perfectly into the fuse box next to the
steering-wheel column. Upon inserting the bullet the headlights again began to
operate properly, and the two men proceeded on east bound toward the White River
Bridge.
After traveling approximately 20 miles, and just before
crossing the river, the bullet apparently overheated, discharged and struck
Poole in the testicles. The vehicle swerved sharply right, exited the pavement,
and struck a tree. Poole suffered only minor cuts and abrasions from the
accident but will require extensive surgery to repair the damage to his
testicles, which will never again operate as intended. Wallis sustained a broken
clavicle and was treated and released.
"Thank God we weren't on that bridge when Thurston shot his
balls off or we might be dead" stated Wallis.
"I've been a trooper for 10 years in this part of the world,
but this is a first for me. I can't believe that those two would admit how this
accident happened" said Deputy Snyder.
Upon being notified of the wreck, Lavinia (Poole's wife)
asked how many frogs the boys had caught and did anyone get them from the truck?
