Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Drahota was killed in an automobile accident while attempting to make a traffic stop. He and the sheriff observed an underage driver on Highway 81 five miles north of Madison. As the sheriff attempted to make a U-turn to stop the car they were struck by another vehicle. Deputy Drahota was transported to Lady of Lourdes Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Deputy Drahota had served with the agency for 5 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and nine children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NE-E28E61E0- 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.
Deputy Sheriff Drahota gave the Madison County Sheriff's Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Madison community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Drahota.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff James J. Drahota 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 NE, 36 of 151 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.8% of this state's fallen. That is 7.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James J. Drahota's cause is highlighted.
How James J. Drahota Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James J. Drahota is highlighted in Oct.