Assistant Chief Ranger Fred R. Bergemeyer

Fred R. Bergemeyer

Assistant Chief Ranger Fred Bergemeyer was killed in a vehicle crash while responding to reports of a fire in Zion National Park, Utah.

He and another ranger had left the park headquarters in a surplus military weapons carrier after receiving reports of a forest fire on the east rim of Zion Canyon. They had traveled 1.2 miles up East Rim Trail when the truck's front wheels slid on mud. The truck went up an embankment and overturned. The other ranger was thrown clear of the vehicle but Assistant Park Ranger Bergemeyer was crushed under the cab, which was not enclosed.

Assistant Chief Ranger Bergemeyer was a U.S. Navy veteran of WWII. He had served with the National Park Service for six years and had been promoted and transferred to Zion National Park one month earlier. He had previously been assigned to Grand Canyon National Park and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. He was survived by his wife, four children, and parents.