Richard Kyle Hardesty Jr.
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Richard Kyle Hardesty Jr.

Accident
End of Watch June 5, 1975
Age 26
Tour of Duty 3 mo
The Vigil Panel 115 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Hardesty was killed when his patrol car collided with a train at approximately noon. He was performing an emergency blood delivery from the county line to a local hospital.

Survivors

Deputy Hardesty had been with the agency for three months and was survived by his expectant wife and one child.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-DE7D41DD
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Richard. Claim this record.

This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.

Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Hardesty served with the Victoria County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Victoria community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Hardesty.

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

Agency

Type Sheriff's Office
Location Victoria, Victoria County, TX
Platform Identity vcso.victoria.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 5, 1975
Tour of Duty 3 mo
Age 26
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Deputy Sheriff Richard Kyle Hardesty Jr. 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 TX, 657 of 2,422 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.1% of this state's fallen. That is 27.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Victoria County Sheriff's Office, 2 of 5 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 40% of this agency's fallen.

Victoria County Sheriff's Office
2
of 5 officers
40% Accident
TX — Statewide
657
of 2,422 officers
27.1% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard Kyle Hardesty Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Richard Kyle Hardesty Jr. Compares

Age at Death
26
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
0.2
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Richard Kyle Hardesty Jr. is highlighted in Jun.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897