Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Joseph Sanders was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle while he was directing traffic at the scene of a previous accident on the Pomona Freeway in Hacienda Heights.
The vehicle that struck him had collided with another car on the rain-slicked highway at approximately 4:20 am. Officer Sanders was flown to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The suspect pled guilty to involuntary vehicular manslaughter in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Officer Sanders was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served with the California Highway Patrol for 14 months. He was survived by his expectant wife and three sons. His daughter was born on June 3rd, 2009.
Survivors
He was survived by his expectant wife and three sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-960F1251- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Officer Sanders gave the California Highway Patrol 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Joseph Paul Sanders served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Officer Joseph Paul Sanders 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. Joseph Paul Sanders's cause is highlighted.
How Joseph Paul Sanders Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph Paul Sanders is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
232 officers from California Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
