Date Palm Drive overpass named after fallen CHP officer

A fallen California Highway Patrol officer who worked out of the Indio area office is being honored for making the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

A dedication ceremony was held Monday naming the Date Palm Drive freeway overpass in Cathedral City after CHP officer Mark Thomas Taylor.

Twenty-five years ago on Thanksgiving Day, Taylor was killed near the Date Palm Drive bridge when he was hit by a passing car while issuing a speeding ticket.

“We are honoring him and showing our grand-daughters that he’s not forgotten, not only by just us, but by all who knew him and by our community at large and that means so much to us,” said Taylor’s widow, Brenda.

A sign bearing Taylor’s name is already in place off eastbound Interstate 10, near the Date Palm exit.

Taylor was 28 when he died.