Howard Garlinger, 31, motorcycle traffic officer of the Southern California Highway Patrol, was killed when his motorcycle crashed into an automobile.

The crash occurred shortly after 5 p.m. while Garlinger was on his way to the east end of Bakersfield carrying out an order issued by Captain William Snell, head of the Kern County Traffic Patrol.

According to a police report on the crash, officer Garlinger was going north on Haley Street and another driver was going east on Nile. The other driver turned his automobile at the intersection and the traffic officer’s vehicle struck him broadside.

He was born in Iowa coming to California with his parents. He had been a member of the Kern Traffic Squad since February 1925, he left behind a wife and two sons.