Britt Thomas Irvine
Agency patch
Traffic Officer

Britt Thomas Irvine

California Highway Patrol — Sacramento, CA
Accident
End of Watch February 24, 1998
Age 40
Tour of Duty 13 yrs
Badge 10657
The Vigil Panel 144 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Britt Thomas Irvine was killed when his patrol car was washed off of a roadway in a terrible storm attributed to the El Niño phenomenon. Officer Irvine and his partner, Officer Rick Stovall, were responding to a call to assist stranded motorists on Highway 166 when the storm washed out the section of roadway they were on. Both officers were killed and several other motorists were washed into the water as well. Their patrol car was found upside down under silt, mud, and debris approximately 100 yards from the roadway.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-9E382DE4
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.
Traffic Officer Irvine gave the California Highway Patrol 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Traffic Officer Irvine.

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

Agency

Location Sacramento, CA
Platform Identity chp.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 24, 1998
Tour of Duty 13 yrs
Age 40
Badge Number 10657
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Traffic Officer Britt Thomas Irvine 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.

California Highway Patrol
151
of 233 officers
64.8% Accident
CA — Statewide
719
of 1,837 officers
39.1% 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. Britt Thomas Irvine'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 Britt Thomas Irvine Compares

Age at End of Watch
40
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
13
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Britt Thomas Irvine is highlighted in Feb.

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