7th June 1955, Tuesday

[Graeme]

Day number 7456Site Date Map

Yesterday << 7th June 1955, Tuesday >> Tomorrow

      

Back

      

[Alan]

Shreveport resident Shirley Searcy: 'A few miles out of Hope, as Elvis and I were deeply engaged in a conversation, we noticed cars of fans passing us, waving, yelling, and honking their horns. Finally, we pulled to the shoulder of the road, and Elvis and I both got out of the car. We smelled the acrid odor of smoke, and about that time we saw the flames licking out from under the car. Elvis immediately tried to throw dirt and rocks on the flames, which were more confined to the backside of the rear tire on the drivers side. He then crawled under the rear of the car and tried to throw mostly small rocks on the fire (it had rained that day and very little dirt was available.) I kept calling him out from under the vehicle, telling him I was afrid the gas tank might explode. Luckily, we had managed to throw the instruments and suitcases out. By that time, we had managed to send word on into Texarkana to Scotty, Bill, and the others, and soon they all returned to our location. We loaded up the instruments, and all drove back into Texarkana to place a telephone call to Vernon and Gladys to bring the to bring the pink and white Ford Crown Victoria that Elvis had purchased for them, so the musicians could continue their tour to Sweetwater, Texas, and we girls could continue our return trip to Shreveport.

      

Fulton, Arkansas. Photographer: Vickie Cutrer

Fulton, Arkansas. Photographer: Vickie Cutrer

Fulton, Arkansas. Photographer: Vickie Cutrer