Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Melissa Pollard was killed when her cruiser collided with the back of a semi-truck at the intersection of FM 14 and State Highway 37-S, between Quitman and Winnsboro, at approximately 10 a.m.
Deputy Sheriff Pollard succumbed to her injuries at UT Health Quitman.
The driver of the semi-truck was not injured.
Deputy Pollard had served with the Wood County Sheriff's Office for over eight years and had previously served with the Fannin County Sheriff's Office for three years and the Collin County Sheriff's Office for ten years.
Survivors
She is survived by her daughter, two sisters, her partner, and three grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-6BA3860C- 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
21 years. You could have gone home.
Deputy Sheriff Pollard gave the Wood County Sheriff's Office 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Quitman community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Pollard.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Melissa Pollard 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 TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Wood County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Melissa Pollard's cause is highlighted.
How Melissa Pollard Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Melissa Pollard is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Wood County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
