Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer John Ellis was killed in an automobile crash when the cruiser he was riding in went out of control on a rain-slicked road near the intersection of Goshen Avenue and Leslie Road in Visalia. The officers were responding to an accident call at the time. After the accident, Officer Ellis' partner was able to pull himself and Officer Ellis out of the wreckage, but Officer Ellis had already succumbed to his injuries. Both officers were wearing their seatbelts. Officer Ellis had served with the California Highway Patrol for five years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, daughter, parents, two brothers, and a sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-42ED18D7- 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.
Officer Ellis gave the California Highway Patrol 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Ellis.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer John R. Ellis 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. John R. Ellis's cause is highlighted.
How John R. Ellis Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John R. Ellis is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
232 officers from California Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
