On October 11th, 1981, Dayton Police Officer Eddie L. Hobson was responding to a domestic disturbance when he suffered critical injuries in a vehicle crash.

He was heading to the scene when an oncoming car being driven by a severely intoxicated man suddenly turned left in front of him, directly into his path. In an attempt to avoid a collision, Officer Hobson swerved hard to the left and missed the car. But then his cruiser started skidding and slammed into a utility pole on the driver’s side. That’s when the pole broke, fell across, and literally split the cruiser into two separate pieces. The other car’s driver fled on foot but turned himself in the next day.

Eddie died of his injuries at the scene. The 23-year-old driver of the other car was convicted of minor traffic offenses and sentenced to 30 days.

Officer Hobson was 28 years old at the time of his death, and had served with the Dayton Police Department for just eight months. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, stepson, mother, father, five sisters, and five brothers.

Eddie was a U.S. Air Force veteran whose stepson also served as a Dayton Police Officer. Before joining the force he had graduated from Mississippi Utica Junior College. He was known as a true gentleman with a great sense of humor, who was always supportive and encouraging, and who loved to work on his cars.
The incident helped lead to a national recall of that popular police cruiser model, which at the time was being used by numerous law enforcement agencies. That recall was based on a major structural flaw with the cruiser’s frame.