Paying tribute to a Lodian

California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike Allen, right, holds Carolyn Miller's arm during a sign dedication honoring her son, John P. Miller, a CHP officer who was killed while in pursuit of a suspected drunk driver near Interstate 580 two years ago Monday. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Paying tribute to a Lodian

CHP Officer John Miller honored with section of Interstate 580

By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 6:42 AM PST

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For six minutes Monday, traffic ceased at the top of the Altamont Pass on westbound Interstate 580.

Rows of California Highway Patrol motorcycles roared up three lanes of asphalt and came into sight promptly at 10 a.m., their red and blue lights flashing.

They passed a crowd gathered near the North Flynn Road exit, and on cue CHP officers pulled a cloth off a new green and white highway sign that read, "CHP Officer John P Miller Memorial Freeway."

The Lodi resident, who died in an on-duty car crash exactly two years ago, now has a section of freeway named in his honor.

Miller's wife and two young children were among those who gathered beneath a clear blue sky Monday. Two years earlier they had cried during a funeral at St. Anne's Catholic Church. On Monday, they smiled and stood proudly beneath the sign.

"It never goes away, but in between the bad days you have better days," his wife, Stephanie Miller, said of the feeling of loss. "You just never know when you're going to have a bad day."

Miller, 32, had graduated from the CHP academy seven months earlier and was assigned to the Dublin-area office. Around 9:15 p.m. on Nov. 16, 2007, he and several officers were dispatched to look for a drunken driver on Interstate 580. A caller then said the suspect had exited at North Livermore Avenue, so Miller also exited.

Then Livermore police officers caught up to the vehicle on the highway, so Miller turned around to catch up. He rounded a curve and lost control of his patrol car, and he died at the scene.

In one of his last conversations of his life, Miller had chatted with fellow officer Jason Montez, one of his roommates at the academy, where recruits live for six months. The two were close in age, had young families and had both previously been truck drivers.

Montez was sent to Southern California but they kept in touch, and that night Miller told Montez that his goal was to stop a drunken driver before his shift ended.

Montez, who spoke at a ceremony Monday after the freeway dedication, choked back tears as he recalled getting a phone call not long after that conversation — Miller had died in a car crash.

"What I remember most is John's love of his family," Montez told a crowd of about 300 gathered at the Robert Livermore Community Center. "Every night on the phone he would verbally tuck in his little man, Chandler, and his princess, Reese. He made time every night to talk to his wife, Stephanie."

Monday's dedication was brought about through a bill signed by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan. It passed unanimously in the state Legislature, said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow.

Though Miller's mother, Carolyn, wiped away tears and his wife, Stephanie, cried when she spoke at the community center, laughter was also heard.

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Montez recalled how Miller apparently missed the part on the CHP academy packing list that said to bring blue or black swim shorts, so he showed up to an exercise in trunks that were bright red with Hawaiian designs.

Miller's wife also brought laughter when she recounted how she was notorious for not paying attention to where she was driving, to the point that before taking her husband's name she was called "Wrong Way Bianchi."

She smiled good-naturedly as she told the story, and then recounted how her husband set out to make a change.

He quizzed her about directions and one time on a trip to Santa Cruz tried to get her to navigate. She told him she didn't need to know, because he was there to guide the way, and Miller replied that he wanted her to be able to do it in case he was gone.

On a recent trip to Santa Cruz, Stephanie Miller navigated the whole way without getting lost, and knew her husband would have been proud.

Before a montage of baby, childhood and family photos began to flash across a large screen, Stephanie Miller had one last thing to say to dozens of officers gathered Monday: "Please be safe out there."

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

John P. Miller at a glance

Born Jan. 29, 1975, at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, John Miller was the second of two children. He grew up in Linden, where he played every possible youth sport.

At Linden High School, Miller continued playing multiple sports, including playing varsity football for three years, said his uncle, Rick Williams. Miller was named to the all-league team during his senior year, and his No. 30 jersey still hangs in the high school. His happiest moment, though, was when the whole team won the championship, his uncle said.

Miller graduated in 1994 and went on to play football at San Joaquin Delta College, where he received an associate's degree. He got a bachelor's degree in 2004 from California State University, Sacramento. He worked for Cherokee Freight Lines before joining the CHP.

His wife, Stephanie, still lives in Lodi with their children, 6-year-old Chandler and 4-year-old Reese.

News-Sentinel staff

Interstate 580 signs

Signs honoring John Miller are posted on both sides of Interstate 580, designating that section of roadway in his name. The signs are green with white writing, and have a California Highway Patrol seal on them.

Westbound drivers can see a sign at the top of the Altamont Pass, at North Flynn Road near the brake check area. Eastbound motorists may see a sign at Airway Boulevard.

Family members wrote on the back of one of the signs before it was installed, leaving messages for Miller. Fellow CHP officers wrote their badge numbers, his son scrawled his name and others left fond memories and messages of love.

"John, I always said from the day you were 1st assigned to Dublin that this was your highway. You are always on my mind every day I drive it! Love, Uncle Rocky."

Miller's wife, Stephanie, wrote: "Honey Bunny, Love you so much and miss you every day. You would be so proud and embarrassed by all of this."

News-Sentinel staff

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