Officer Donald E. Brandon was traveling west when another vehicle heading north struck his patrol vehicle broadside at an intersection in Ridgecrest. The 30-year-old patrolman was killed by the impact.
Investigating officers report Brandon’s patrol car was traveling west on Upjohn Road when it was struck broadside at the Downs Avenue intersection by a northbound car Brandon was thrown out.
Brandon moved to Bakersfield in 1958 after four years of service in the USAF. He was a native of Auburn, Indiana. Brandon had joined the CHP in 1962 and had been a member of the Patrol for less than one year. He left behind a wife, Laura, and a son, Michael Lee, 8.