Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief Deputy Keith Lyon was killed in an automobile accident on Schaad Road when another vehicle crossed the center line and struck his department SUV head-on.
The driver of the other vehicle and Chief Deputy Lyon both succumbed to their injuries while being transported to a local hospital.
Chief Deputy Lyon had served with the Knox County Sheriff's Department for 18 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-66707EA8- 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.
Assistant Chief Deputy Lyon gave the Knox County Sheriff's Office 18 years.
Thank you for your service to the Knoxville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Assistant Chief Deputy Lyon.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Assistant Chief Deputy L. Keith Lyon 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 TN, 191 of 769 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.8% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Knox County Sheriff's Dept., 3 of 11 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. L. Keith Lyon's cause is highlighted.
How L. Keith Lyon Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. L. Keith Lyon is highlighted in May.
Others Who Wore This Badge
10 officers from Knox County Sheriff's Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
