Roll of Honor
Incident
Lieutenant Steve McCulley was killed when his cruiser was struck by an empty coal train.
He was crossing an unguarded crossing with double tracks when the train struck the passenger side of the car at approximately 43 miles per hour. The passenger side door was pushed into the driver's seat. Lieutenant McCulley was flown to a local hospital, where he later died.
Lieutenant McCulley had served with the Knox County Sheriff's Office for 21 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-F53941E5- 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.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Steve. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
21 years. You could have gone home.
Lieutenant McCulley gave the Knox County Sheriff's Office 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Knoxville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lieutenant McCulley.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Lieutenant Steve Keith McCulley 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 TN, 191 of 769 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.8% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Knox County Sheriff's Dept., 3 of 11 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Steve Keith McCulley's cause is highlighted.
How Steve Keith McCulley Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Steve Keith McCulley is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
10 officers from Knox County Sheriff's Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
