William David Watson

Bill Watson

51, of Wesley, was crushed to death on Hwy. 71 Bypass in Fayetteville, early last night when a tank trailer carrying 5,000 gallons of milk rolled over on his compact car.

Mr. Watson was dead on arrival at the City Hospital in Fayetteville.

Watson who operates a self-service laundry at Fayetteville, lives at Wesley, and was a member of the Huntsville School Board.

The driver of the tractor which pulled the trailer, Leroy Gardner, 33, of Springdale was not injured.

Police said the long trailer, en route to Dallas with a 40,000 pound load of milk, broke loose from the tractor as the rig rounded the curve immediately northeast of the Locust St. Intersection.

The trailer rolled over on its side and skidded into Watson's northbound car. The impact drove Watson's car backward and pinned it against a utility pole. The trailer rolled on the car, then flopped back off, police said. The pole snapped and the car tumbled down a 15-foot embankment.

Police attributed the cause of the accident to a defective coupling device which linked the tractor to the trailer.

The truck is owned by Skelton Brothers, Inc., of Springdale.

Firemen were summoned when it was first thought that the trailer carried gasoline. They assisted police in routing traffic around the milk-flooded accident scene.

The fatality was the first this year in Fayetteville resulting from a traffic accident inside the city limits.

Mr. Watson is survived by his wife, Ruby Boyd Watson of the home; one daughter, Mrs. Wanda Calico of Aurora; one son, David "Butch" Watson, of the home; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. G. V. Watson of Route 5, Huntsville; three brothers, County Judge Clarence N. Watson of Huntsville; Everett and Clyde Watson of Wesley; two sisters, Mrs. Jewell Schliebe of Santa Anna, Calif.; and Mrs. Edith McCoy of Star Route, Huntsville; and two grandchildren, Teresa and Mike Calico of Aurora.

Funeral arrangements, which are incomplete, are under the direction of Brashears Funeral Home.

The Madison County Record

Huntsville, AR

17 Dec 1964

Funeral services for Bill Watson of Wesley who was killed in a car accident at Fayetteville Dec. 8 were held in the Assembly of God Church here Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock with Rev. Den Montgomery of Springdale and Rev. Charles Young officiating. Burial was in the cemetery here under the direction of Brashears Funeral Home.

Pallbearers were: John Baker, Don Pitts, Eugene Bell, Quentin Counts, Ross Sharp and Lewis Mitchell.

Honorary pallbearers were: Earl Shinn Jr., Jim Hargis, Curtis Shrum, Hoy Haught, Cecil Fitch, H. O. McLoud, Merle Webb, O. D. Easterling and Ed DeArmon.