Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant James Hite was struck and killed by a vehicle at Bryan Street and Main Street at about 9:00 pm.
He had reported back to police headquarters at Callbox 44 and started to walk back to his car on the other side of Main Street when struck. The vehicle made a left turn and slowed down to avoid hitting a dog. When the vehicle swerved to prevent hitting the dog, the front bumper hit Sergeant Hite, throwing him up to the pavement. The driver and several witnesses rendered assistance but Sergeant Hite succumbed to his injuries at Columbia Hospital at 10:45 pm.
No charges were filed and the accident was ruled unavoidable.
Sergeant Hite had served with the Columbia Police Department for over 22 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two children, and grandson.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-SC-3020FE05- 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
22 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Hite gave the Columbia Police Department 22 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Columbia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Hite.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant James Walter Hite 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 SC, 137 of 438 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.3% of this state's fallen. That is 0.3 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Columbia Police Dept., 3 of 10 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Walter Hite's cause is highlighted.
How James Walter Hite Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James Walter Hite is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
9 officers from Columbia Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
