William Milton Humphrey, Motorcycle Officer

Logan County Highway Patrol

At 3 P.M. Sunday afternoon, March 27, 1927, Officer Humphrey, 49, was north bound on his motorcycle with a sidecar in pursuit of a speeder on State Highway 4 two miles south of Guthrie when a south bound car started to make a left turn in front of him. Officer Humphrey swerved to the left to go around the turning car and collided with a Chevrolet sedan that was behind the turning car. The force of the impact turned the Chevrolet over and threw Officer Humphrey in the air. The four persons in the Chevrolet were slightly injured and along with Officer Humphrey were rushed to the hospital in Guthrie. Officer Humphrey suffered a fractured skull, a broken leg and shoulder. He lost consciousness about 2 a.m. Monday morning and never regained it before he died at 12:30 P.M. the afternoon of Friday, April 1, with his wife and three sons by his side. Humphrey had served as County Assessor prior to being appointed as an officer six weeks before the accident. Following his death, his oldest son Vernon, 20, was appointed to take William Humphrey’s place as county motorcycle officer.