Winter Weather Leads To Injuries

BENTONVILLE — Winter weather has contributed to a pair of injuries involving city and county emergency personnel.

Capt. Josh Terrell with the Rogers Fire Department broke two bones in his right ankle Sunday afternoon while on a crew responding to a natural gas leak. The call was received about 2 p.m. Terrell required surgery and will be off work for several months to rehabilitate, Chief Tom Jenkins said Thursday.

“He was on Engine Co. 3, which is at our airport fire station, and they responded to a call of a natural gas leak on the very northern edge of the city,” Jenkins said. “While they were en route, the fire truck had some issues with ice on some of the residential roads and went off the roadway.”

Terrell went to the natural gas leak on foot and plugged the leak while the engine crew worked to get the engine back on the road, Jenkins said.

Terrell slipped on a patch of ice while walking back to the engine, Jenkins said.

“He basically rolled his ankle and broke both bones in the lower right ankle,” Jenkins said.

Terrell was taken to Mercy Hospital in Rogers for surgery and is now at home, Jenkins said.

“He’s doing OK and we’re expecting he’ll be back on duty,” Jenkins said.

A Benton County road grader operator was taken to Mercy on Wednesday night by Northeast Benton County EMS, according to State Police.

Pea Ridge Ambulance personnel were sent to the scene on Lee Town Road about 1.8 miles east of Pea Ridge about 7 p.m. A NEBCO advanced life support ambulance was called to assist, State Police said.

Stanley Drain was eastbound on Lee Town Road on a county Caterpillar road grader when he went off the road to the right, crossed back over, ran down an embankment, through a fence and about 100 yards into a field before coming to a stop when hitting another fence, State Police said.

Road conditions were slushy at the time and it was snowing, according to the State Police report.

Terry Nalley, county public services administrator, said Thursday that Drain was blading ice and snow off the road when the incident occurred.

“A car approached him and it kind of crowded him a little,” Nalley said. “He moved over to give the car as much room as he could and the right front tire slipped off into the ditch.”

The ditch at that point is deep and when Drain tried to pull the grader out of the ditch and back to the road the vehicle hit the concrete wall of a driveway, causing it to go airborne, Nalley said. The blade then hit the roadway and sent the grader off the road on the other side, Nalley said.

Drain lost consciousness during the incident and suffered other injuries, but Nalley said he didn’t have any other details.

The grader was back to the Road Department’s Bentonville road yard and was being assessed for damage, Nalley said.

Annette Beard contributed to this report.

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