Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Bill Hetrick was killed when his patrol car was struck by a tractor-trailer while he was on patrol on Ohio 51 near Reiman Road at 4:30 am.
Officer Hetrick was assisting the Genoa Police Department and was driving their patrol car when the incident occurred. He had just finished investigating an accident and was driving on State Route 51 in heavy fog when a tractor-trailer pulled out from a side street, colliding with his patrol car. Officer Hetrick died at the scene.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-1BF9B903- 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 Hetrick gave the Clay Township Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Genoa community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Hetrick.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer William Jay Hetrick, Jr. 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 OH, 318 of 991 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Jay Hetrick, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How William Jay Hetrick, Jr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Jay Hetrick, Jr. is highlighted in Jul.