Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Jim McCabe and Officer Gayle Wood were killed when their helicopter struck a power line support tower, which was not visible in the darkness. They were finishing up their air patrol around 7:30 p.m. when the accident occurred near Castaic Lake on I-5. Officer McCabe had served with the California Highway Patrol for seven years and had been a helicopter observer for six months.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, children, mother, brother, and three sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-167ECA7B- 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 McCabe gave the California Highway Patrol 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer McCabe.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer James E. McCabe 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. James E. McCabe's cause is highlighted.
How James E. McCabe Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James E. McCabe is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
232 officers from California Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
