Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Eric DeWit was killed in an automobile crash while he and his partner were on patrol at 3:25 am.
A vehicle had turned in front of their patrol car at the intersection of Sauk Trail and Kostner Avenue, in Richton Park, causing Officer DeWit to take evasive action to avoid a collision. Their patrol car struck a fire hydrant, causing fatal injuries to Officer DeWit and minor injuries to his partner.
Officer DeWit had served with the Matteson Police Department for only four months.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and 1-month-old daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-3898E451- 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.
Police Officer DeWit served with the Matteson Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Matteson community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer DeWit.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Eric Eugene DeWit 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 IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Eric Eugene DeWit's cause is highlighted.
How Eric Eugene DeWit Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Eric Eugene DeWit is highlighted in Feb.