1982 CHP Mustang E870255

[mac88chp]

Originally Posted by Steve

I knew I'd seen that vehicle before...there was an enlarged photo of it in the briefing room with the caption "Watch out for this guy!" LOL, just kidding.

Seriously, do you remember if that white door warning was from an '82? Because that could have been me and 0255. Most of the time I was in Los Banos I worked day shift the East side of the area (beat 30-16), which included SR 152 East from Los Banos city to the Madera County line and SR 33 from the Dos Palos Y to just South of Mendota, and all the County roads and areas in between. A very large area, parts of 3 counties.

The Dos Palos exit off of SR 152 you referred to, we called that the Dos Palos Y because of the configuration of the interchange. One of my favorite breakfast and coffee pit stops was there; in fact coming out of that restaurant was where the pursuit I referred to in the first post on this thread started from. I would get up at 4:30 am on weekdays to get into the office for day shift, head out of Los Banos East to make an SR 152 beat check, then go get breakfast. So it is possible you saw 0255 and I out there.

Thinking about that area brings back even more memories.

Phew, glad I wasn't a BOL, didn't want to end up like this poor guy! LOL



Steve, I honestly can't recall the year of the Mustang or even the exact year ('83 or '84) that white door warning happened to me. I do remember it was enhanced by a quick on-off flash of the ruby in my direction before the officer floored it and disappeared into the night.

Who knows, we very well may have laid eyes upon one another out there in the westlands badland once upon a time.

[MOstang]

Originally Posted by mac88chp

Phew, glad I wasn't a BOL, didn't want to end up like this poor guy! LOL

One foot on the break and one on the gas....yep you can't drive 55, LOL!

[Steve]

Originally Posted by mac88chp

Steve, I honestly can't recall the year of the Mustang or even the exact year ('83 or '84) that white door warning happened to me. I do remember it was enhanced by a quick on-off flash of the ruby in my direction before the officer floored it and disappeared into the night.

Who knows, we very well may have laid eyes upon one another out there in the westlands badland once upon a time.

It is possible. When I did work evening shift it was always on beat 30-16 (Westside). Some Officers didn't like driving the Mustangs, they drove the Dodge Diplomat instead. So it was likely one of only 3 or 4 possible officers that evening. Los Banos was a small office in those days; I think only about 16 or so Officers plus 2 or 3 Sergeants, a Lieutenant, and the Captain. Day shift would have 3 or 4 units, evenings the same, and Graveyard a single 2-man car. But sometimes vacations, court time, sick time, etc. would reduce the lineup. I remember one time when I was the only unit for the entire area on day shift. I put about 350 miles on 0255 in 8 hrs just trying to beat check all the main roadways at least once.

[Steve]

With 0327 in the shop for an extended time now, there's not much to do. I just worked for four days at a County Fair (LE), so I had time to reminisce about the old days again.

I always balanced enforcement with service. It is the way I always thought the job should be done and it enabled me to go home after a shift believing I was doing things the right way, a positive orientation.

One afternoon 0255 and I were working the East side of Los Banos on SR 152 when I observed a vehicle travelling Westbound that caught my attention. A lot of black smoke was coming out from underneath and from the sides of the engine compartment. This was clearly not exhaust smoke, and it didn’t look like a transmission oil leak onto a hot exhaust pipe. No, something else was going on and there was enough smoke to justify immediate action.

I turned 0255 Westbound, closed fast on the subject vehicle, and activated the red spot light and wig wags. After a short distance the driver yielded to the shoulder and stopped. I made a driver’s side approach. Black smoke was billowing out from under the hood. “You’ve got something going on here” I told the driver, an elderly man “And I can see it isn’t good.” He activated the hood release and exited the vehicle. As soon as I opened the hood the problem was obvious. The oil filler cap was missing, oil had splashed out all over the top of the engine, and eventually had caught fire. I grabbed 0255’s fire extinguisher and put out the fire, which had begun to include the spark plug wires. After a few minutes everything settled down and stabilized.

It turned out the driver had stopped for gasoline some miles back and decided to check the oil. It was low so he added a quart, but forgot to replace the oil cap, which was now lost. The vehicle clearly could not safely be driven any further. I called for a tow to take him the remaining 25 miles or so into a garage in Los Banos.

Now you’d think this driver would be grateful. Our action certainly saved his car which would likely have been past the point of saving within minutes of the time I stopped him, and perhaps a serious accident and injury had it gotten to the point where it caused him to crash. He might have even burned up along with it. Yes, driving along perfectly normal one minute, then stopped and having to be towed a short time later is inconvenient. But this guy acted as though it was somehow all my fault for stopping him. Not one word or demeanor of thanks, gratitude, or even recognition for rescuing him from his carelessness; instead it was as though it was me that was inconveniencing him.

Oh well; you can’t please everyone. 0255 and I had once again done our duty. Perhaps at least the Karma Continuum had taken notice.

[Steve]

Over the holidays I was at a party and was hanging out with some other former LE officers. Not really a holiday subject, but somehow the subject of discussion became gruesome fatal accidents you've seen. I've seen many and each one is a story in itself, but i always remember the double-fatal crash that happened early in Los Banos on the Interstate. In the same area and not far away from the location where 0255 and I herded the cattle off the freeway and back onto their side of the fence. Fatals and major-injury crashes were common in that area, mostly due to the high speeds on the Interstate. Many of them were single-vehicle (solos) where drivers would fall asleep and drive off the roadway, even during the daytime. And at the speeds involved, it was usually bad.

It was early on a weekend morning. Dispatch had received a report from CalTrans (California Dept. of Transportation) that a vehicle had crashed into one of their trucks. 0255 and I arrived shortly and I could see right away what had happened. CalTrans had a crew working on the shoulder and had parked one of their large sign trucks a few hundred feet upstream, on the shoulder, to physically protect their workers. A good practice just in case a vehicle drifted onto the shoulder...which is exactly what happened. For unknown reasons, likely a sleepy driver, a standard-sized sedan with two occupants smacked square into the back of that truck at freeway speed. No brakes, no slowing at all. Both occupants were dead, and it was obvious they had both died instantly upon impact. But it was the driver that I won't forget. His body was still hunched forward, with the upper part of the steering wheel lodged in his mouth about halfway back into his head. The impact had sent him forward and he quite literally ate the steering wheel.
There wasn't much to do besides call for the Coroner, tow trucks, and write the report.

[Steve]

Spotted in my driveway a few minutes ago! Seriously, 0327 came home from the interior shop yesterday. I couldn't resist putting one of the repro 0255 E Plates on and snapping a few photos. From now on 0327 is going to be doing double duty as 0327/0255.

[28HopUp]

Such a pretty car!

[Steve]

Thanks, Bill, been a long time and a lot of work. I feel like I've run a marathon taking this SSP from where it was to near completion. But you likely know all about that.

As a final tribute to 0255, I plan to take this vehicle back to the location of the first photo in this thread, the rest stop on freeway I5 in the Los Banos area and recreate it. Put the 0255 plates on front and back, locate the veh in the exact same spot, then pose with it. Should make an interesting now and then comparison. I still have my original uniform jacket from back then, if you look very close in the original photo of 0255 (only) taken from the perspective of the driver's side front, you can see it draped around the passenger seat. I'll put the jacket in the same place for maximum possible authenticity.

[JerryPHX]

Steve, That SSP looks BETTER than New! Great work.

[Steve]

Thank you Jerry. You're in one of my favorite states, AZ. I'm thinking of moving to Bullhead City in a few years. I know many Arizonans don't want more Californians, at least ones that bring the politics with them. That's not me...I'm wanting to get away from Kalifornia politics...