John W. Foy
Agency patch
Railroad Policeman

John W. Foy

Accident
End of Watch April 29, 1922
Age 45
Tour of Duty 1 mo
The Vigil Panel 43 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Railroad Policeman John Foy was struck and killed by a train while guarding the Sand Patch Tunnel in Larimer Township, Pennsylvania.

He had been assigned to guard the tunnel since a coal strike opened on April 1st, 1922. Railroad workers found him lying unconscious alongside the tracks on the east end of the tunnel and took him to Connellsville Hospital, where he died at approximately 7:00 am. It is believed he had been struck by a passing freight train during the overnight period.

His body was returned to Baltimore, Maryland, for burial.

Policeman Foy had served one month with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-3B9FD114
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.
Railroad Policeman Foy served with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Baltimore community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Railroad Policeman Foy.

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

Agency

Location Baltimore, MD
Platform Identity borpd.rr.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 29, 1922
Tour of Duty 1 mo
Age 45
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Railroad Policeman John W. Foy 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 MD, 140 of 377 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 37.1% of this state's fallen. That is 6.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department, 8 of 22 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 36.4% of this agency's fallen.

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department
8
of 22 officers
36.4% Accident
MD — Statewide
140
of 377 officers
37.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John W. Foy's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How John W. Foy Compares

Age at End of Watch
45
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
0.1
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John W. Foy is highlighted in Apr.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location