Deputy Howard Knott lost his life in a cloudburst in Keene that swept him and another man to their deaths.
Deputy Knott, 56, Chief Civil Deputy Sheriff of Kern County, was found 2 ½ miles below Keene.
Deputy Knott and Deputy Jepson were in route to Inyo-Kern to serve official papers and were blocked by flood waters at Tehachapi. While returning to Bakersfield, they stopped at Keene for a cup of coffee a few minutes before the disaster.
Deputy Jepson, witness to the cloudburst which sent an eight foot was of water roaring out of Water Canyon into the mountain community, said the Thompson brothers and Knott were in the El Rita store and the adjacent station at Keene when it was smashed by the flood.
Officer Harold E. Nichols’ motorcycle skidded and crashed when it ran across a slippery area of the road. Nichols was killed instantly. The 42-year-old patrolman had served continuously in Kern County since joining the CHP in 1930. The 15-year CHP veteran held numerous medals for expert marksmanship.
He was survived by a wife and a step daughter.
Officer James H. VandeWeg was responding to an emergency call when a truck pulled directly in his path. VandeWeg was unable to stop and his motorcycle crashed into the truck. The 30-year-old officer suffered critical injuries and died just hours later. VandeWeg had previously served with the Redondo Beach Police Department and with the Burbank Police Department until joining the CHP in 1942.
Officer James B. Dalziel was returning from duty on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge shortly after midnight when a vehicle drove directly in front of his motorcycle. The collision killed the patrolman instantly. Dalziel was a 28-year veteran of law enforcement service that began in 1917 with the San Mateo County Motor Patrol and continued uninterrupted when the county unit merged with the CHP. The 55-year-old patrolman had served on the Bay Bridge since 1941.
Officer Norman A. Kessler was pursuing a traffic violator when his motorcycle developed a high speed wobble after striking a rough spot in the highway pavement. Kessler lost control and skidded 200 feet before crashing. The 36-year-old patrol officer was killed almost instantly. Kessler had served in Tulare County since graduating from the CHP Academy in 1942.
Officer Raymond H. Berry, 50, was concluding his shift when he suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage. Berry, a 16-year CHP veteran, had previously served with the San Jose City Police Department and had been a member of the Santa Clara County Squad before it was absorbed by the CHP in 1929.
Officer Harold W. Irwin was on his motorcycle in pursuit of a speeding vehicle when he was struck by a vehicle that had pulled into his traffic lane from a parking lane without signaling. Irwin died the night of March 20, 1945.
