Roll of Honor
Incident
Senior Trooper Maria Mignano and Police Officer Jason Hoerauf, of the Albany Police Department, were struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle at approximately 7:00 pm while assisting the family of a disabled van on I-5 near mile marker 243.
Officer Hoerauf was on a ride-along with his mentor, Sergeant John Burright, when the two stopped to assist the van. Trooper Mignano responded to the scene to back them up. While the three officers were standing on the right side of the van, which was parked on the right shoulder, a pickup truck suddenly swerved across a lane of traffic. The pickup struck the right rear of Trooper Mignano's patrol car, traveled along the other two vehicles, and struck all three officers. The driver of the vehicle was driving on a suspended license at the time and had fallen asleep while driving.
Trooper Mignano and Officer Hoerauf succumbed to their injuries at the scene. Sergeant Burright was flown to a local hospital in extremely critical condition. He suffered critical injuries that caused him to medically retire in early 2002. He remained under continuous medical care until succumbing to complications of his injuries on May 4th, 2021.
In December 2001, the man plead guilty to criminally negligent homicide and was sentenced to two days in jail and three years of probation as part of a plea bargain.
Trooper Mignano had served with the Oregon State Police for eight years.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OR-520B9CC5- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- September 9, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Senior Trooper Mignano gave the Oregon State Police 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Oregon. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Senior Trooper Mignano.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Senior Trooper Maria Mignano is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,787 officers honored here.
In OR, 66 of 197 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.5% of this state's fallen. That is 33.5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Oregon State Police, 15 of 31 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 48.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Maria Mignano's cause is highlighted.
How Maria Mignano Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Maria Mignano is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Where the Name Is Cut
Others Who Wore This Badge
30 officers from Oregon State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
