George Chandler

RENO EVENING GAZETTE

January 31, 1948

State Officer Dies In Crash With Bus On Road Near Reno

Sgt. George Chandler, 41, of the Nevada state police, was fatally injured this morning when his patrol car was struck by an eastbound Greyhound bus near Reno’s western city limits.

He died at Washoe general hospital about three hours later without regaining consciousness.

No one aboard the bus was injured.

The driver of the big vehicle, identified by police as Shirley Jay Stokes, 41, of Sacramento, was booked for reckless driving following the accident and was released into custody of Greyhound company officials here.

Officers who investigated the crash, which occurred directly in front of the Sunset auto court on West Fourth St., said they had tested the brakes of the bus twice and found them 70 per cent efficient.

The big carrier skidded 38 feet before striking the 1947 Pontiac in which Sgt. Chandler was riding and then carried the lighter vehicle another 79 feet before coming to a halt, the official report stated.

Using those figures, police said they had come to the conclusion that the bus was traveling approximately 50 miles per hour at the time of the crash. the area is in a 25-mile-per-hour zone, which begins at the city limits.

Mr. Stokes told the police he believed his speed was approximately 25 miles per hour, but officers said that their tests proved the bus would stop in 30 feet at that rate.

The accident occurred, according to the witnesses when Sgt. Chandler either began a left turn into the Sunset auto court or started to turn around at that point.

Police said the bus apparently had swung out to pass the patrol car just as Sgt. Chandler began his turn, and the impact occurred in the left lane of the highway. Both vehicles were eastbound.

The bus struck the car on the left side and crushed the smaller vehicle. Sgt. Chandler was pinned behind the driver’s wheel by the crash.

The bus was damaged only slightly in the accident, and passengers aboard it said they felt no more than a heavy jar when it struck the patrol car.

Sgt. Chandler has been a member of the state police force since last summer and before that served for some time in the Reno police department.

Plaque Location & Image

Center Wall Column 9 Row B     View The Plaque