Walter Sinton Parrish
Agency patch
Trooper

Walter Sinton Parrish

Virginia State Police — North Chesterfield, VA
Accident
End of Watch October 4, 1953
Age 24
The Vigil Panel 89 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper Walter Parrish was killed in an automobile crash while on patrol on Shirley Highway (modern-day I-95), near the Lorton overpass, in Fairfax County. It is believed that he was attempting to catch up with a speeder when his patrol car went out of control and careened down a 35-foot embankment at 1:20 am. Trooper Parrish was assigned to the Ingleside Barracks.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-VA-BD8E9393
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.
Trooper Parrish served with the Virginia State Police.
Thank you for your service to the people of Virginia. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Parrish.

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

Agency

Location North Chesterfield, VA
Platform Identity vsp.va.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 4, 1953
Age 24
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Trooper Walter Sinton Parrish 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 VA, 203 of 654 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31% of this state's fallen.

At Virginia State Police, 32 of 52 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 61.5% of this agency's fallen.

Virginia State Police
32
of 52 officers
61.5% Accident
VA — Statewide
203
of 654 officers
31% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Walter Sinton Parrish's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Walter Sinton Parrish Compares

Age at End of Watch
24
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Walter Sinton Parrish is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location