|
|
David Bannister, Patrolman
Born: April 6, 1947
End of Watch: June 3, 1974 |
 |
| |
|
Officer David Bannister, 27 years old, died
on Monday, June 3rd, 1974 when his patrol car flipped over during a high
speed chase. At 11:30 a.m., Officer Bannister attempted to pull over a 15-year
old for a traffic violation. The 15-year old did not stop and a chase began.
The chase approached the 8100 block of Viscount where another police unit
attempted to stop the fleeing juvenile. The juvenile slammed on his brakes
and Officer Bannister, who was directly behind the juvenile’s car, was forced
to veer to the left to keep front colliding with the juvenile’s car. The
patrol car struck the center median and flipped on its side. The car continued
another 120 feet until it struck a rock wall planter and flipped. Officer
Bannister was ejected from the patrol car and was crushed underneath it.
He died a few hours after arriving at Providence Memorial Hospital. The
juvenile was arrested but was released to his father. It was later learned
that the 15-year old had taken his father’s car without permission. Officer
Bannister was survived by his wife Mary and daughter Michelle. Source:
El Paso Times.
|
|
|
 |
print-version