Madera County Sheriff's Department Sgt. George Harvey Terry and Matron Lucille Helm were killed when their vehicle was struck head-on by another vehicle as they were returning from transporting a female mental patient.
Deputies Oscar Lloyd De Vaney, Terry and Helm were southbound on Highway 99, just north of the Madera-Merced County line, and were returning from Modesto where they had delivered a female mental patient. A male prisoner, Joe Robinson, 32, who was being returned to Madera, was riding in the back seat with De Vaney while Terry, the driver, and Helm were in the front seat.
The accident occurred when a 78-year-old man, Thomas Alford Henry, had a heart attack while driving his car northbound, crossed the divider strip between the north and southbound traffic lanes and smashed head-on into the Sheriff's Department car. The divider strip had no barrier other than bushes that also blocked the view of drivers on one side of the highway from vehicles going the other direction.
Both vehicles were demolished. Terry, Helm and Henry were killed instantly while DeVaney was critically injured. Robinson suffered minor injuries.
Sgt. Terry was buried at Arbor Vitae Cemetery in Madera following the burial of Matron Helm on the same day.
Sgt. Terry was survived by his wife, Florence, father, Andrew Terry of Montana, and mother, Sylvia Bennett Terry of Oregon and is honored at the California State Peace Officer Memorial in Sacramento, CA, and the National Peace Officer Memorial in Washington, D.C., Panel E-15, Line 4.
Deputies Oscar Lloyd De Vaney, Terry and Helm were southbound on Highway 99, just north of the Madera-Merced County line, and were returning from Modesto where they had delivered a female mental patient. A male prisoner, Joe Robinson, 32, who was being returned to Madera, was riding in the back seat with De Vaney while Terry, the driver, and Helm were in the front seat.
The accident occurred when a 78-year-old man, Thomas Alford Henry, had a heart attack while driving his car northbound, crossed the divider strip between the north and southbound traffic lanes and smashed head-on into the Sheriff's Department car. The divider strip had no barrier other than bushes that also blocked the view of drivers on one side of the highway from vehicles going the other direction.
Both vehicles were demolished. Terry, Helm and Henry were killed instantly while DeVaney was critically injured. Robinson suffered minor injuries.
Sgt. Terry was buried at Arbor Vitae Cemetery in Madera following the burial of Matron Helm on the same day.
Sgt. Terry was survived by his wife, Florence, father, Andrew Terry of Montana, and mother, Sylvia Bennett Terry of Oregon and is honored at the California State Peace Officer Memorial in Sacramento, CA, and the National Peace Officer Memorial in Washington, D.C., Panel E-15, Line 4.
Madera County Sheriff's Department Sgt. George Harvey Terry and Matron Lucille Helm were killed when their vehicle was struck head-on by another vehicle as they were returning from transporting a female mental patient.
Deputies Oscar Lloyd De Vaney, Terry and Helm were southbound on Highway 99, just north of the Madera-Merced County line, and were returning from Modesto where they had delivered a female mental patient. A male prisoner, Joe Robinson, 32, who was being returned to Madera, was riding in the back seat with De Vaney while Terry, the driver, and Helm were in the front seat.
The accident occurred when a 78-year-old man, Thomas Alford Henry, had a heart attack while driving his car northbound, crossed the divider strip between the north and southbound traffic lanes and smashed head-on into the Sheriff's Department car. The divider strip had no barrier other than bushes that also blocked the view of drivers on one side of the highway from vehicles going the other direction.
Both vehicles were demolished. Terry, Helm and Henry were killed instantly while DeVaney was critically injured. Robinson suffered minor injuries.
Sgt. Terry was buried at Arbor Vitae Cemetery in Madera following the burial of Matron Helm on the same day.
Sgt. Terry was survived by his wife, Florence, father, Andrew Terry of Montana, and mother, Sylvia Bennett Terry of Oregon and is honored at the California State Peace Officer Memorial in Sacramento, CA, and the National Peace Officer Memorial in Washington, D.C., Panel E-15, Line 4.
Deputies Oscar Lloyd De Vaney, Terry and Helm were southbound on Highway 99, just north of the Madera-Merced County line, and were returning from Modesto where they had delivered a female mental patient. A male prisoner, Joe Robinson, 32, who was being returned to Madera, was riding in the back seat with De Vaney while Terry, the driver, and Helm were in the front seat.
The accident occurred when a 78-year-old man, Thomas Alford Henry, had a heart attack while driving his car northbound, crossed the divider strip between the north and southbound traffic lanes and smashed head-on into the Sheriff's Department car. The divider strip had no barrier other than bushes that also blocked the view of drivers on one side of the highway from vehicles going the other direction.
Both vehicles were demolished. Terry, Helm and Henry were killed instantly while DeVaney was critically injured. Robinson suffered minor injuries.
Sgt. Terry was buried at Arbor Vitae Cemetery in Madera following the burial of Matron Helm on the same day.
Sgt. Terry was survived by his wife, Florence, father, Andrew Terry of Montana, and mother, Sylvia Bennett Terry of Oregon and is honored at the California State Peace Officer Memorial in Sacramento, CA, and the National Peace Officer Memorial in Washington, D.C., Panel E-15, Line 4.
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