Albert Donald Hoover

California Highway Patrol — Sacramento, CA

Accident

End of Watch August 31, 1934

Age 31

Tour of Duty 5 yrs

The Vigil Panel 68 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 232

Incident

Officer Don Hoover was killed in a motorcycle crash on the Santa Cruz- Watsonville Highway. At 7:45 p.m., Officer Hoover was returning from the lettuce strikes near Watsonville when another vehicle turned off of a cross street, striking his bike. He was driving on the curve of the highway known as the "Slaughterhouse Curve." It was aptly named due to the severity of accidents that occurred on the sharp turn. Officer Hoover was transported to a Santa Cruz hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the next morning. Officer Hoover had served with the California Highway Patrol for five years. He started with the California Highway Patrol when it was created. He was survived by his wife, son, and parents. He was a distant cousin to the former President of the United States, Herbert Hoover. In 2013, the northbound lane of Highway 1 near Park Avenue and the southbound lane near the La Fonda Avenue Bridge was renamed the A. Donald Hoover Memorial Freeway.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, son, and parents.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-CA-8149135C
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Hoover gave the California Highway Patrol 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Hoover.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department California Highway Patrol

Location Sacramento, CA

Platform Identity chp.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 31, 1934

Tour of Duty 5 yrs

Age 31

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer Albert Donald Hoover is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At California Highway Patrol, 151 of 233 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 64.8% of this agency's fallen.

California Highway Patrol

151

of 233 officers

64.8% Accident

CA — Statewide

719

of 1,837 officers

39.1% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers