John Franklin Wimbish

Winston-Salem Police Dept. — Winston-Salem, NC

Accident

End of Watch November 1, 1952

Age 25

Tour of Duty 4 yrs

The Vigil Panel 88 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 18

Incident

Patrolman John Wimbish was killed in an automobile crash on Old Lexington Road, at Sunset Drive, while involved in a vehicle pursuit.

Patrolman Wimbish's partner was severely injured and never able to return to full duty. The driver they were pursuing was never apprehended.

Patrolman Wimbish had served with the Winston-Salem Police Department for four years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-NC-7F0A9029
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.
Patrolman Wimbish gave the Winston-Salem Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Winston-Salem community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Wimbish.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Winston-Salem Police Dept.

Location Winston-Salem, NC

Platform Identity wpd.forsyth.nc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 1, 1952

Tour of Duty 4 yrs

Age 25

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Weapon Automobile

Offender Not available

Patrolman John Franklin Wimbish 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 NC, 205 of 664 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.9% of this state's fallen.

At Winston-Salem Police Dept., 8 of 19 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 42.1% of this agency's fallen.

Winston-Salem Police Dept.

of 19 officers

42.1% Accident

NC — Statewide

205

of 664 officers

30.9% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers