Razorback Fan Causes 9 Car Pileup After Failing to Yield

Saying he would “never give up on them Hogs,” Morrilton motorist Purvis Clements was unrepentant while appearing in North Little Rock traffic court this week for a failure to yield citation. Police charge the violation led to a multi-car pileup.

“I ain’t givin’ up on Coach B or his coachin’ philosophy,” a defiant Clements told the court, referring to Arkansas Head Coach Brett Bielema. “It ain’t his fault he just don’t got the talent this year.”

According to a police incident report, Clements was turning east onto Osage Drive from Mission Road shortly after the conclusion of the game between Arkansas and Louisiana State University on Nov. 29 when, police said, he ran a yield sign and drove his red 1997 Dodge pickup into a pearl white 2006 Infiniti driven by Renee McMasters of Little Rock.

“It was shocking,” said Jeff Pruitt, who lives near the intersection and witnessed the incident. “The initial crash was so unexpected. You just didn’t see it coming, at least not there. And then, bam, they just started piling up one after the other after the other. I stopped counting at six, but I understand there were nine before it was all said and done.

“That’s got to be a record of some kind,” Pruitt continued. “We usually don’t even get that much traffic on this street. Maybe once a year.”

None of the parties reported injuries other than significant shock, though one was taken to a local hospital where x-rays confirmed a shoulder separation. Clements assured the court that, had he been hurt, he “darn sure woulda bled Razorback red.”

Perhaps surprisingly, none of the drivers failed sobriety tests.

Damages to the vehicles initially involved were estimated at $250 and $4,682, respectively.

“If you ask me, they need to just take that sign out altogether,” Clements told a reporter after his hearing, at which he was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of $150. “Them as put that sign up – and it ain’t been there long, I know that much – they ain’t even real Hog fans. In a season like this, we all just gotta stick together. Next year’ll be better. Just you wait.”

McMasters, a recent New Jersey transplant according to her driver’s license, declined to comment. However, a posting on her Twitter account following the court proceedings read simply “@ArkRazorbacks it’s ok to #sometimesyield.”

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Razorback Fan Causes 9 Car Pileup After Failing to Yield