On Tuesday, February 15, at approximately 1420 hours, CHP Officer Thomas Adams (24) sustained fatal injuries following a head-on collision on US-101, just south of Piercy.

Officer Adams, a Fortuna native, was traveling north on Highway 101 in a patrol vehicle just south of Piercy near Garberville.  Jeff Kidd (39) of Perris, was driving south on the highway in a 2004 Toyota Tundra with passenger Jared P. Geldhofbond (31) of Riverside.  The two vehicles collided about 14 miles north of Leggett and 13 miles south of Garberville.  Officer Adams was pronounced deceased at the scene.  Kidd and Geldhofbond were taken to Jerold Phelps Community Hospital in Garberville and later released.

After graduating from the Academy in January 2009, Officer Adams began his career in Oakland.  He transferred to the Garberville Area in September 2010. He is survived by his parents, Bruce and Karen Adams. His mother is a public safety dispatcher for the CHP who is assigned to the Humboldt Communications Center.