Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Vargas was killed in a motorcycle crash while on patrol in a residential area in Santa Clara around 7:45 p.m.
Another vehicle suddenly turned in front of him while he was driving on Santa Clara - Saratoga Road (present-day Saratoga Avenue) near Meridian Corners (present-day Stevens Creek Boulevard), causing a collision. He was transported to Santa Clara County Hospital (present-day Santa Clara Valley Medical Center), where he succumbed to his injuries the next day.
Officer Vargas had served with the California Highway Patrol for almost four years.
Survivors
Survivors include his wife and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-FBB34569- 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 Vargas gave the California Highway Patrol 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Vargas.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Ralph A. Vargas 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. Ralph A. Vargas's cause is highlighted.
How Ralph A. Vargas Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ralph A. Vargas is highlighted in Sep.
Others Who Wore This Badge
232 officers from California Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
