Incident
Chief Randy Wells was killed when his patrol car was rear-ended by a box truck on the Snyder Freeyway, near La Grange Road.
He was blocking traffic for a maintenance crew when the truck crashed into the back of his stopped vehicle, despite having all of his emergency equipment activated.
Two of the maintenance workers were also seriously injured.
Chief Wells had served as chief for 16 years and was the 500-person town's only police officer.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, two children, two grandchildren, and mother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-KY-18878287- 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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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Navy. One record, 2 gates. Randy is one person.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Chief of Police Wells gave the Forest Hills Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Louisville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Wells.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Randy Wells served in the U.S. Navy (1958â1961) before joining law enforcement.
Chief of Police Randy Wells 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 KY, 161 of 983 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 16.4% of this state's fallen. That is 16.4 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Randy Wells's cause is highlighted.
How Randy Wells Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Randy Wells is highlighted in Oct.
Military Service
Randy Wells served in the U.S. Navy (1958–1961) before joining law enforcement.
Visit Randy Wells’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
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