John Mahoney
Agency patch
Railroad Detective

John Mahoney

Accident
End of Watch April 13, 1906
Age 28
The Vigil Panel 20 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Railroad Detective John Mahoney was struck and killed by a train in the rail yards at Roby, Indiana.

He was walking across the Wolf Lake Bridge when a fast-moving train approached. He attempted to run to safety but was struck after he tripped and fell.

Detective Mahoney, now it's been 116 years since your passing. You have not, nor will you be forgotten. God Bless and forever Rest in Peace, Brother.

Ptl. Jim Leahy, Jr. Harvard University Police Department April 13th, 2022

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-8733790A
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.
Railroad Detective Mahoney served with the Pennsylvania Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Philadelphpia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Railroad Detective Mahoney.

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

Agency

Location Philadelphpia, PA
Platform Identity pennpd.rr.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 13, 1906
Age 28
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Railroad Detective John Mahoney 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 PA, 417 of 1,261 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Pennsylvania Railroad Police Department, 22 of 36 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 61.1% of this agency's fallen.

Pennsylvania Railroad Police Department
22
of 36 officers
61.1% Accident
PA — Statewide
417
of 1,261 officers
33.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Mahoney's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How John Mahoney Compares

Age at End of Watch
28
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Mahoney is highlighted in Apr.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location