Roll of Honor
Incident
Senior Trooper Michael Rao succumbed to injuries sustained two days earlier when he was struck by a pickup truck while assisting a motorist on southbound I-95, near Manning, at 8:30.
The pickup truck veered off of the road, struck his patrol car and the other vehicle, before landing on Trooper Rao. Trooper Rao was flown to a local hospital where he later died of his injuries.
Trooper Rao was a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for four years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, 2-year-old daughter, parents, and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-SC-55A81D16- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Senior Trooper Rao gave the South Carolina Highway Patrol 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of South Carolina. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Michael Joseph Rao served in the Navy (1988â1992) before joining law enforcement.
Senior Trooper Michael Joseph Rao 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 South Carolina Highway Patrol, 31 of 52 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 59.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Michael Joseph Rao's cause is highlighted.
How Michael Joseph Rao Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Michael Joseph Rao is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
51 officers from South Carolina Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
