Dan Austin Nelson
Agency patch
Trooper

Dan Austin Nelson

Oregon State Police — Salem, OR
Accident
End of Watch July 28, 1972
Tour of Duty 3 yrs 4 mo
The Vigil Panel 110 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper Dan Nelson was struck by a vehicle and killed while issuing a warning to a motorist on I-5 in Salem. An elderly driver, impaired by sleepiness, drifted across the fog line and struck him.

Survivors

Trooper Nelson had served as an officer for three years, four months and is survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-OR-E2D54B9C
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Trooper Nelson gave the Oregon State Police 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Oregon. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Nelson.

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

Agency

Department Oregon State Police
Type State Police
Location Salem, OR
Platform Identity osp.or.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 28, 1972
Tour of Duty 3 yrs 4 mo
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Trooper Dan Austin Nelson is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 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.

Oregon State Police
15
of 31 officers
48.4% Accident
OR — Statewide
66
of 197 officers
33.5% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Dan Austin Nelson's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Dan Austin Nelson Compares

Years of Service
3.3
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Dan Austin Nelson is highlighted in Jul.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897