Patrolman Webb S. Hersperger
(EOW 6/18/33)

The fatal accident which took the life of Patrolman Webb Hersperger occurred on a Sunday morning, about 7:30 a.m., June 18, 1933, on the Rockville-Darnestown Road near Quince Orchard. The 31-year-old patrolman had left his home in Poolesville operating his police motorcycle and was enroute to work at the Bethesda substation when he was confronted by a passing vehicle coming towards him, ending in a head-on collision with the automobile. Hersperger was killed instantly when he was thrown through the windshield of the automobile. The other driver was transported to Montgomery General Hospital for treatment and was ultimately charged with manslaughter and reckless driving by Officer John Butts who had come along within minutes. Ironically, Officer Hersperger knew the operator of the car.

Officer Hersperger had been commended often for outstanding service, including a time when he leaped on the running board of a getaway car from a moving police car and arrested two men who had been preying on motorists in Rock Creek Park.