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Wayne Herman Griglen
Agency patch
Correctional Officer

Wayne Herman Griglen

Georgia Department of Corrections — Atlanta, GA
Accident
United States flag Georgia flag
End of Watch February 27, 1997
Age 38
Tour of Duty 6 yrs
The Vigil Panel 143 ›
Gender Male
Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 37

Incident

Correctional Officer Wayne Griglen, Correctional Officer Carlton Cherry, Correctional Officer Eddie Davis, and Sergeant Tommie Goggins were killed in an automobile crash while returning from an Emergency Response Team training class. As they were driving on I-75, six miles south of Tifton, a tractor-trailer forced them off of the road and directly into the path of two tractor-trailers heading in the opposite direction. Both semis struck the van simultaneously. Two of the officers were thrown from the van, and the rest were trapped inside. Eight other officers who were riding in the van were hospitalized. The driver of the semi that caused the crash was charged with several offenses, including four counts of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident. Officer Griglen had served with the Georgia Department of Corrections for six years and was assigned to the Rutledge Correctional Institution. He is buried at the Green Acres Cemetery in Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia.

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August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Correctional Officer Griglen gave the Georgia Department of Corrections 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Georgia. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Correctional Officer Griglen.

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

Agency

Department Georgia Department of Corrections
Type Corrections
Location Atlanta, Fulton County, GA
Platform Identity gdcorr.fulton.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 27, 1997
Tour of Duty 6 yrs
Age 38
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

The Sacrifice · Accident

Wayne is one of 8,275 officers lost to accidents in the United States, 30% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

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Compare against
I

Time

In 1997, 73 officers in the United States were lost to accidents, the 38th heaviest of 174 years on record. The heaviest was 1929, with 118.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Wayne was 38. Of the 7,718 lost to accidents in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 29 and 46; the middle age was 36. Wayne had served 6 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

February holds 7.2% of these deaths in the United States; August holds the most, 9.5%. Thursdays: 14%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Accident deaths account for 30% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the 2nd most common cause.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Georgia Department of Corrections has 38 officers remembered here, Wayne among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Correctional Officer Wayne Herman Griglen

Georgia Department of Corrections · End of Watch February 27, 1997

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 51-E

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