Shasta Explorer - Terry's accident

Headline: Officer involved in accident identified
By: E-R Staff
Date: 12/5/06

Chico police said officer Terry Tupper, 38, was seriously injured at about 9:20 a.m. today, when the patrol car he was driving north on The Esplanade was hit by a big-rig beer truck at Eighth Avenue.

Based on statements from several witnesses, California Highway Patrol investigators said the driver of the beer truck, Joseph Woodard, 22, of Redding, was traveling south on The Esplanade and ran a red light.

After hitting a small pickup in the intersection, the beer truck went out of control and crossed over a landscaped median, where it hit Tupper's car broadside.

"The big rig drove the police unit up off The Esplanade onto the eastside drive causing serious injury to the officer," stated a Chico police press release.

Within minutes, Chico Fire Department rescue crews extricated the injured officer from the wreckage and he was rushed to the nearby Enloe Medical Center.

The CHP said Tupper suffered a broken pelvis and had a laceration to his head. He was admitted to the hospital this afternoon.

The press release described the officer's condition as "stable." He is reportedly alert and talking and the police said his injuries are "not life-threatening."

The truck was an 18-wheeler owned by Foothill Distributing of Redding.

According to witnesses at the crash scene a small car was also involved in the wreck. There were no injuries to the other drivers.

Hazmat teams were dispatched to the crash site to deal with spills that included at least 50-gallons of diesel fuel.

The Esplanade between Eighth and Ninth avenues was closed for several hours as the CHP investigated the crash and Chico fire crews cleaned up the diesel.

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Headline: Injured officer is world-class cyclist
By: GREG WELTER - Staff Writer
Date: 12/6/06

An air bag, his bullet-proof vest and the sturdiness of his Ford Crown Victoria patrol car may have helped Chico officer Terry Tupper survive a bad crash Tuesday, but his road-race-hardened toughness probably helped, too.

Before joining the Police Department just under a year ago, Tupper, 38, was a cycling team coach in Shasta County and was nearing the end of a 23-year career as a world-class bicycle road racer.

Tupper raced in Europe from 1989 to 1991, then again in 1994, winning some grueling competitions on a par with the Tour de France.

In recent years he became the organizer of a major annual road race in Redding, and a coach and rider for the Owens Pharmacy Cycling Team.

Redding Record-Searchlight outdoor writer Thom Gabrukiewicz covered several of Tupper's cycling exploits.

"He was a very good rider, but he said he always wanted to become a police officer," said Gabrukiewicz. "That was all he ever talked about."

Tupper was raised in the Redding area, but said he took a job with the Chico police because he liked the energy of the area.

In an online biography, Tupper is credited with coaching four athletes to six national cycling championships and eight medals. He also served as race director for the Sea Otter Classic and assistant director for the U.S. Cycling Association's Elite National Road Race Championships in 2001.

"I was never a star, which forced me to become very tactical in my efforts to win races," Tupper stated in his biography.

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Headline: Bike coach hurt in car crash
By: Jim Schultz, Record Searchlight
Date: 12/6/2006

CHICO — A Chico police officer with close ties to the Redding area was badly injured Tuesday when his patrol car was hit by an out-of-control beer truck driven by a Redding man, officials said.

Officer Terry Tupper, 38, the only person injured in the crash, was taken to Enloe Medical Center, where he was reported in fair condition Tuesday afternoon.

A California Highway Patrol spokesman said a southbound beer truck driven by Joseph Woodard, 22, of Redding went through a red light on The Esplanade in Chico about 9:20 a.m. and was struck by a pickup going through the intersection.

The force of the impact caused the beer truck to careen across a landscaped median and slam broadside into Tupper’s northbound patrol car, the spokesman said. The truck is owned by Foothill Distributing of Redding.

Identification of the driver of the pickup, who was not injured, was not immediately available, the CHP spokesman said.

Tupper, who joined the Chico Police Department on Dec. 19, 2005, reportedly broke his pelvis and cut his head in the crash. The crash closed The Esplanade between Eighth and Ninth avenues for three to four hours, Chico police said.

Woodard was not arrested or cited, the CHP spokesman said, adding that the crash is still under investigation.

Tupper is well-known in north state bicycling circles and is a rider-coach for the Owens Healthcare Cycling Team in Redding.

Tupper, who has been racing since 1983, was a professional cyclist for 12 years and raced in Europe in 1989-1991 and 1994.

"I was never a star, which forced me to become very tactical in my efforts to win races," Tupper says in a biography posted on the Owens Healthcare Cycling Team’s Web site.

He was instrumental in persuading the United Cycling Federation to bring its Elite National Road Cycling championships to Redding in 2000 and 2001, and actively promoted the Redding 3 Days race and the Redding Criterium.

John Friesen, the president and chief operating officer of Owens Healthcare in Redding, put together the cycling team. Friesen said he thinks Tupper has an apartment in Chico, but returns to his Redding area residence weekends, as his work schedule allows.

Friesen said he had dinner with Tupper on Saturday and it was clear that Tupper loves being a police officer.

"He’s a good guy," Friesen said.

Still, it’s been a tough year for the cycling team. Four team members were injured in September when they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while cycling on Eastside Road in Redding. Tupper was not riding with them at the time of the accident.

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Headline: Injured Chico police officer out of hospital
By: ROGER H. AYLWORTH - Staff Writer
Date:12/8/2006

Chico police officer Terry Tupper, who was injured Tuesday when his patrol car was hit by a beer truck, has been released from Enloe Medical Center.

At about 9:20 a.m. Tuesday Tupper was driving north on The Esplanade, when a a big-rig beer truck headed south, crossed into the northbound lanes and slammed into the driver's side of his patrol car.

Besides the care of his wife, Chico police will continue to be there for Tupper, according to Carrillo.

"The department is ensuring if there is anything officer Tupper needs for someone up there to offer him assistance or if he needs to drive some place, that we are going to be up there. We're definitely going to see he's taken care of," said the lieutenant.

Tupper lives in the Redding area.

Before he was released Thursday morning he got a surprise visit in his hospital room.

"His whole entire team, the day-shift team, went to the hospital along with the chief and the captains. They went down there, and several of the dispatchers went down there, and awarded him employee of the month," said Carrillo.

The officer was chosen for the in-house honor "because of his hard, diligent work on several good cases he developed as a patrol officer."

Tupper, 38, is a newcomer to police work.

"He has only been on the street of a year," said the lieutenant.

Carrillo described Tupper as "an outstanding performer out there on the street, a good street cop.
"He's definitely one of those guys we're really proud of."

Carrillo couldn't speculate on when or even if Tupper would be returning to duty.

"We are all hoping and praying that he makes a speedy recovery and comes back to work because he is certainly the kind of a police officer the city of Chico needs."

The crash that injured Tupper is under the investigation of the California Highway Patrol. No one else was injured in the wreck that involved two other vehicles besides the truck and the patrol car.

Carrillo explained that even though the wreck occurred in Chico police jurisdiction, the department routinely asks an outside agency to investigate traffic collisions involving officers where someone is injured or there is significant property damage.

The lieutenant had no information on the status of that investigation.