Officer Raymond E. Miller was standing with a truck driver he was citing for illegally parking on the shoulder of Interstate 5 near Bakersfield when a truck-tractor drifted on to the shoulder and crashed into the patrol unit. The impact of the collision rammed the patrol car into the two men, crushing their legs. The truck then continued across all traffic lanes into the center divider where it overturned. Although he had sustained severe leg injuries, Miller directed traffic and emergency operations as he lay, on the ground. Three-weeks after the accident, Officer Miller died of a massive pulmonary embolism while waiting for surgery on his injured legs. He was 41-years-old and a 16-year CHP veteran.
Miller joined the CHP in 1969 and spent four years in Los Angeles, two in Fort Tejon and the remainder in Bakersfield. He left behind a wife, Denise, and his children, Paul, 18, and Dana, 15.