Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Daniel Benavides was killed when the department airplane he was piloting crashed.
He was flying a Cessna 206 on observation patrol for a speed detail near Highway 78 when it went down about 9:30 am. The crash occurred in the desert near Highway 78 west of Split Mountain Road in Imperial County.
Officer Benavides had served with the California Highway Patrol for 13 years and was assigned to the Border Division Thermal Air Operations Unit.
Survivors
Officer Benavides is survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-C3D3C465- 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.
Pilot Officer Benavides gave the California Highway Patrol 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Pilot Officer Benavides.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Pilot Officer Daniel Nava Benavides 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At California Highway Patrol, 151 of 233 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 64.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Daniel Nava Benavides's cause is highlighted.
How Daniel Nava Benavides Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Daniel Nava Benavides is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
232 officers from California Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
