Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper John Hagerty was killed when the traffic plane he was piloting was struck by a low-flying U.S. Navy plane over Lakeland. He was monitoring traffic on I-4, flying at an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet, when two Navy A7B Corsair bombers entered the airspace near him. One of the jets collided with his plane, slicing it in two. The wreckage of his plane landed on I-4, approximately four miles north of Lakeland. Trooper Hagerty and other troopers had previously reported Navy aircraft buzzing the traffic control planes and vehicles on the highway. Trooper Hagerty had served with the Florida Highway Patrol for 13 years.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FL-47DF8689- 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.
Trooper Hagerty gave the Florida Highway Patrol 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Florida. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Hagerty.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper John C. Hagerty 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 FL, 313 of 1,008 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.1% of this state's fallen. That is 0.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Florida Highway Patrol, 25 of 54 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 46.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John C. Hagerty's cause is highlighted.
How John C. Hagerty Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John C. Hagerty is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
53 officers from Florida Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
