Roll of Honor
Incident
Corporal Frances Collender was struck and killed by a vehicle while assisting at the scene of a previous collision around 6:00 a.m.
Corporal Collender had stopped her patrol car behind a van that was disabled in the travel lane on Route 1 near the U.S. 13 overpass near Odessa, Delaware. As she was standing next to her patrol car with lights activated, her car was struck from behind by another vehicle. Corporal Collendar was pinned against the front of her patrol car. She was transported to Christiana Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries approximately two hours later.
The driver of the vehicle that struck her vehicle was not charged in connection with the crash.
Corporal Collender had served with the Delaware State Police for 4 years.
Survivors
Survivors include her two daughters and parents.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-DE-D8A79B3F- 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.
Corporal Collender gave the Delaware State Police 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Delaware. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Corporal Collender.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Corporal Frances Marie Collender 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 DE, 19 of 51 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 37.3% of this state's fallen. That is 6.3 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Delaware State Police, 11 of 21 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 52.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Frances Marie Collender's cause is highlighted.
How Frances Marie Collender Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Frances Marie Collender is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
20 officers from Delaware State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
