William R. "Randy" Bender

Ohio State Highway Patrol — Columbus, OH

Accident

End of Watch November 20, 1982

Age 31

Tour of Duty 10 yrs

Badge 313

The Vigil Panel 126 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 41

Incident

Trooper Randy Bender succumbed to injuries sustained one month earlier when he was struck by a tractor-trailer while directing traffic at a construction site at US Route 23 and State Route 53 in Wyandot County. He was transferred to Wyandot Memorial Hospital and later to University Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Trooper Bender's father, Deputy William J. Bender, was killed in an on-duty automobile crash on July 2, 1973, while serving with the Marion County, Ohio, Sheriff's Department. Trooper Bender had served with the Ohio State Highway Patrol for ten years, assigned to the Marion Post.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, three daughters, mother, and grandmother.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-OH-694ADF7F
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 Bender gave the Ohio State Highway Patrol 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Ohio. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Bender.

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

Agency

Department Ohio State Highway Patrol

Location Columbus, OH

Platform Identity oshp.oh.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 20, 1982

Tour of Duty 10 yrs

Age 31

Badge Number 313

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Trooper William R. "Randy" Bender 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%.

At Ohio State Highway Patrol, 33 of 42 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 78.6% of this agency's fallen.

Ohio State Highway Patrol

of 42 officers

78.6% Accident

OH — Statewide

318

of 991 officers

32.1% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident