On November 29, 2011 at about 6:30 am, Chief of Police Jerry Hicks was driving his patrol car enroute to Potosi Correctional Center to pickup an inmate work crew. His patrol vehicle slid on a patch of ice on a highway bridge, skidded off the roadway at the intersection of Route 8 and Railroad Road in Washington County and struck a tree on the passenger side of the vehicle .

Chief Hicks was flown to a hospital in Creve Couer, where he remained unconscious until with severe head injuries until he died 6 days later on December 4th.

Chief Hicks was a U.S. Army Reserves and U.S. Navy veteran and had served in law enforcement for 25 years. Prior to joining the Leadwood Police Department, he had served with the St. Francois County Sheriff's Office, St. Genevieve County Sheriff's Office, and the Elvins Police Department. He is survived by his two adult children, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Interred: Bonne Terre Cemetery, Bonne Terre, MO.