Cotton Patch, NC.: Two local men were injured when their pick-up
truck left the road and struck a tree near Cotton Patch on State
Highway 38 early Monday morning. Woodruff County deputy Dovey
Snyder reported the accident shortly after midnight Monday.
Thurston Poole, 33, of Des Arc and Billy Ray Wallis, 38, of
Raleigh, are in serious condition at Baptist Medical Center.
The accident occurred as the two men were returning to Des Arc
after a frog gigging trip. On an overcast Sunday night, Poole's
pick-up 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
caliber bullet from his pistol fit perfectly into the fuse box next
to the steering 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 twenty miles and just before
crossing the river, the bullet apparently overheated, discharged
and struck Poole in the right testicle. The vehicle swerved
sharply to the right exiting the pavement and striking a tree.
Poole suffered only minor cuts and abrasions from the accident, but
will require surgery to repair the other wound. Wallis sustained
a broken clavicle and was treated and released.
"Thank God we weren't on that bridge when Thurston shot his
nuts off or we might both be dead", stated Wallis. Deputy Snyder
said, "I've been a trooper for ten years in this part of the world,
and this is a first for me. I can't believe that those two would
admit how this accident happened."
Upon being notified of the wreck, Poole's wife, Lavinia, asked
how many frogs the boys had caught and did anyone get them from the
truck.