Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Erin Hehl was killed when the helicopter she was in crashed during a training exercise. Sergeant Hehl was flying with a civilian pilot at suburban Frankfort Airport in the department's helicopter known as AirOne. They were practicing touch-and-go landings when one of the skids of the A-Star Eurocopter got stuck in the mud, causing the helicopter to flip over. The civilian pilot was killed as well. Sergeant Hehl had 70 hours of flight experience, but it is unknown who was at the controls at the time of the crash. Sergeant Hehl had served with the Illinois State Police for 11 years. She is survived by her husband, son, and stepson. Sergeant Hehl was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant.
Survivors
She is survived by her husband, son, and stepson.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-F6FBE83A- 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.
Sergeant Hehl gave the Illinois State Police 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Illinois. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Hehl.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Erin Marie Hehl 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%.
At Illinois State Police, 49 of 67 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 73.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Erin Marie Hehl's cause is highlighted.
How Erin Marie Hehl Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Erin Marie Hehl is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
66 officers from Illinois State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
