Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper John Horton was struck and killed by a patrol car while conducting a traffic stop near the intersection of High Shoals Church Road and Goodes Grove Church Road in Mooresboro at about 9:00 pm.
Trooper Horton had detained the driver of the vehicle and was standing on the shoulder of the roadway with the subject. Another trooper arriving on the scene to back him up lost control of his patrol car and collided with Trooper Horton's patrol car, which was then pushed into Trooper Horton and the detained subject. The detained subject died at the scene, and Trooper Horton died after being transported to a hospital in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The area the crash occurred in had experienced snow and sleet throughout the day.
Trooper Horton had served with the North Carolina Highway Patrol for 15 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, six children, parents, sister, and two brothers.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-EC0EBBAA- 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 Horton gave the North Carolina Highway Patrol 15 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of North Carolina. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Horton.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper John Sumter Horton 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 North Carolina Highway Patrol, 41 of 69 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 59.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Sumter Horton's cause is highlighted.
How John Sumter Horton Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Sumter Horton is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
68 officers from North Carolina Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
