Byron Keith Cannon
Deputy Sheriff

Byron Keith Cannon

Accident
End of Watch May 4, 2005
Age 26
Tour of Duty 2 yrs 6 mo
The Vigil Panel 153 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Byron Cannon was killed in an automobile crash on I-20 at approximately 4:15 pm.

He and another deputy were both following a dump truck whose driver was suspected of being involved in an earlier assault. As they approached US 378, Deputy Cannon's patrol car, for unknown reasons, crossed the interstate's median, struck an SUV head-on, and was struck by a passenger car. The patrol car burst into flames after the second collision.

Deputy Cannon had served with the Richland County Sheriff's Department for 18 months and had previously served with the South Carolina Department of Probation and Parole for one year.

Survivors

He is survived by his fiance, brother, and his mother.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-SC-06175634
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Cannon gave the Richland County Sheriff's Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Columbia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Cannon.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Columbia, SC
Platform Identity rcso.richland.sc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 4, 2005
Tour of Duty 2 yrs 6 mo
Age 26
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Deputy Sheriff Byron Keith Cannon is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In SC, 137 of 438 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.3% of this state's fallen. That is 0.3 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Richland County Sheriff's Dept., 4 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 57.1% of this agency's fallen.

Richland County Sheriff's Dept.
4
of 7 officers
57.1% Accident
SC — Statewide
137
of 438 officers
31.3% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Byron Keith Cannon's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Byron Keith Cannon Compares

Age at End of Watch
26
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
2.5
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Byron Keith Cannon is highlighted in May.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location