Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Jeremy Hubbard was killed during a pursuit of a pickup truck whose driver was suspected of diesel gas theft at 6:40 pm from a service station in Staunton in Macoupin County.
After Benld and Gillespie police officers had both terminated their pursuits, Officer Hubbard observed the vehicle without license plates traveling on North First Street at 8:00 pm and attempted to make a traffic stop. Officer Hubbard pursued the vehicle about 15 miles when his patrol car went out of control and overturned in a cornfield on Illinois Route 128, a mile south of U.S. 40, near Altamont in Effingham County.
Officer Hubbard had been ejected from the patrol car and was airlifted to Greenville Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An officer trainee, who was riding with Officer Hubbard, was injured but survived.
The suspect fled the scene and surrendered three days later to the Howard County, Maryland, Police Department. He refused to tell officers why he was turning himself in, but investigators were able to link him to the pursuit. He was extradited to Illinois and charged with reckless homicide and three counts of aggravated fleeing a police officer.
Officer Hubbard had served with the Cowden Police Department as one of its two part-time officers for four years and also served as a part-time deputy with the Effingham County Sheriff's Department for eight months.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, 8- and 13-year-old sons, sister, mother and grandmother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-35820DDD- 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.
Police Officer Hubbard gave the Cowden Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Cowden community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Hubbard.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Jeremy John Hubbard 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 IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Jeremy John Hubbard's cause is highlighted.
How Jeremy John Hubbard Compares
Offender Outcome
Charged
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Jeremy John Hubbard is highlighted in Aug.