Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer James O'Connor was killed when his motorcycle was struck head-on by another vehicle. Officer O'Connor and three fellow officers were returning from a motorcycle training session in Santa Maria. Officer O'Connor was riding in the left rear position of a box formation with the other officers on California 154 outside Santa Ynez when a car veered into the path of the motorcyclists. Three officers managed to swerve, but Officer O'Connor was struck head-on and thrown 60 feet, his helmet knocked loose by the impact. He was transported to Santa Ynez Valley Hospital where he died from his injuries. The 78-year-old driver of the car was not cited in the incident. Officer O'Connor had served with the California Highway Patrol for eight years and was assigned to Ventura.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, who was also a California Highway Patrol Officer, and three stepdaughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-C856D10F- 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 O'Connor gave the California Highway Patrol 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer O'Connor.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer James Christopher O'Connor 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 Christopher O'Connor's cause is highlighted.
How James Christopher O'Connor Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James Christopher O'Connor is highlighted in Nov.
Others Who Wore This Badge
232 officers from California Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
