Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Oran Blasingame and Chief Deputy Leonard Taylor were killed in a vehicle crash on US Highway 64, six miles west of Selmer.
Chief Deputy Taylor and Deputy Blasingame were passengers in a vehicle being driven by a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent en route to Memphis to interview two juveniles suspected of being in a series of burglaries in the county. Their car struck a logging truck that made a left turn in front of them.
A citizen that they were going to drop off at a Memphis hospital was also killed in the crash.
Deputy Blasingame was survived by his wife, two children, and a grandchild.
Survivors
Deputy Blasingame was survived by his wife, two children, and a grandchild.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-8C2A30CD- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Blasingame served with the McNairy County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Selmer community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Blasingame.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Oran Randal Blasingame is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 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 24.8 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At McNairy County Sheriff's Office, 3 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Oran Randal Blasingame's cause is highlighted.
How Oran Randal Blasingame Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Oran Randal Blasingame is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from McNairy County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
