In the April Fool's Day post, the police department prank said that there were 286 crashes on State Line in 2018 causing damage that reached $500,000 and because of this left turns would be banned beginning May 1 on State Line.
The post was well-written and very detailed so readers were really stung when they read "Happy April Fool's Day." The post garnered 945 reactions, 438 shares and 262 comments.
It was a great joke, but it got us to thinking: Sometimes there is truth in humor. Was there really a problem with left turns on State Line?
So we decided to go to the source of the April Fool's Day prank to find out if there really is a left turn problem on State Line: Shawn Vaughn. As the spokesperson for the Texarkana, Texas Police Department, the originator of the joke and the man with the greatest two-syllable, rhyming name around, he was happy to answer our burning question.
Shawn Vaughn said that there was "absolutely not" a problem with left turns on State Line.
In fact, Vaughn said he chose State Line because it did not really have an issue with left turn crashes. He said people really found the joke funny and that he received many comments on it. However, since the post was very detailed, he said that some people were taken in until they read it was an April Fool's Day joke.
So there you have it. There is no real problem with left turns on State Line.
Thanks to Shawn Vaughn for the information and the humor. We'll be ready for you next year.
