One of Bonnie Parker’s gloves was found in the wrecked Ford V8 pulled from the Salt Fork of the Red River. A full bullet clip from a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was also found in the car. Both are on display in the historical museum on the courthouse square in Wellington. A local family purchased the wrecked car as salvage and drove it for many years after Clyde missed a detour and drove it into the shallow river. Credit: Gerald E. McLeod

The Red River Plunge of Bonnie and Clyde is still legendary in Wellington, a town at the base of the Texas Panhandle 30 miles north of Childress. 

A Texas historical marker about the famous outlaws stands near the original bridge abutments in Pioneer Park 7 miles north of town.

Collingsworth County Museum on the courthouse square has an exhibition on the outlaws’ brief visit to Wellington. The display includes Bonnie Parker’s glove and a bullet clip recovered from the car. The wrecked Ford coupe was pulled from the riverbed and was used by a local family for several years.

The crash happened late on June 10, 1933. Clyde Barrow was driving the V8 Ford rushing to meet his brother Buck and wife Blanche in Oklahoma. Highway 4 (now U.S. 83) was being realigned for a new bridge and Clyde missed the detour. The car sailed over the embankment, rolling several times.

Among the displays of antique farm equipment, a soda fountain, a doctor’s office, and other local artifacts in the Collingsworth County History Museum in Wellington features an exhibit on the “Red River Plunge of Bonnie and Clyde” Credit: Gerald E. McLeod

In a nearby farmhouse, Sam and Sally Pritchard and their daughter Gladys heard the wreck and called the authorities before rushing to the crash site. They arrived just as Clyde, Bonnie, and W.D. Jones were crawling from the wreckage. 

Not knowing who was coming in the dark, Jones fired a shotgun that wounded Gladys in the hand. In the crash, Bonnie was severely burned on the leg by battery acid that hampered her ability to walk for the rest of her short life. 

When the sheriff and chief of police arrived to investigate the wreck, the Barrow Gang took the lawmen prisoner. The gangsters made their escape in the sheriff’s car. 

Time was running short for Bonnie and Clyde after the Wellington crash. Buck was killed the next month. With Bonnie’s debilitating injury and the cops in hot pursuit, the bank robbers took to the backroads and petty crimes. Their crime spree ended May 23, 1934, near Gibsland, La.

A state historical marker in Pioneer Park seven miles north of Wellington tells the story of Bonnie and Clyde’s nosedive into the Salt Fork of the Red River. In the background is the new US83 bridge. The roof of the history kiosk is held up by girders from the 1930s bridge, which was being built when Clyde missed the construction detour. Concrete embankments from the original bridge are still in the park. Credit: Gerald E. McLeod

1,797th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere. Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/day-trips.

This article appears in March 13 • 2026.

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Gerald E. McLeod joined the Chronicle staff in November 1980 as a graphic designer. In April 1991 he began writing the “Day Trips” column. Besides the weekly travel column, he contributed “101 Swimming Holes,” “Guide to Central Texas Barbecue,” and “Guide to the Texas Hill Country.” His first 200 columns have been published in Day Trips Vol. I and Day Trips Vol. II.