Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Gary Wagers was killed in a single-vehicle crash while on patrol on State Route 113, near I-5, in Yolo County.
He was last observed driving with his emergency equipment activated, and at some point, his patrol left an elevated freeway embankment and landed on its roof in a wooded area. His vehicle was discovered approximately four hours later by a commuter who noticed skid marks leading off the 25-foot embankment. Authorities were notified of the accident by the citizen.
He had been scheduled to get off duty at 3:45 am. The exact time of the accident was unknown because his last communication with dispatch was at midnight. Although Sergeant Wagers didn't check out at the end of his shift, no patrol vehicles were sent to check on him because it was common for him to work beyond the end of his scheduled shift.
Sergeant Wagers had served with the California Highway Patrol for 22 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and three grown children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-EB15092D- 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
22 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Wagers gave the California Highway Patrol 22 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Wagers.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Gary R. Wagers 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. Gary R. Wagers's cause is highlighted.
How Gary R. Wagers Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Gary R. Wagers is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
232 officers from California Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
