CHP Officer Killed in Collision

Friday, July 2, 1954

Officer Frank M. Epperson was apparently in pursuit of two speeding vehicles on what is now State Route 86 near the Riverside/Imperial County line. After a northbound pursuit of approximately ten miles Epperson attempted to pass a pickup, which suddenly started a left turn in front of the patrol car. Epperson tried to avoid a collision but the two vehicles collided, and the patrol car rolled several times before breaking a power pole and slamming into irrigation equipment. The 40-year-old patrolman died at the scene. Epperson had joined the CHP in 1948, but his duty was interrupted by service in the Korean War. He returned to the Patrol in 1952.