Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Rice County
County: Rice
Death Date: 11/24/1954
Added to Memorial: 2000
Circumstances of Death: Accidental Automobile
On the evening of November 24, 1954, Rice County Deputy Sheriff William H. Everett was dispatched to an automobile accident at the Little Arkansas River bridge on U.S. Highway 50N east of Little River. Upon arrival at the scene, Deputy Everett and Little River City Marshal Wayne Crowl located evidence of an accident but no vehicle. While both officers were searching along the roadway, Crowl observed a vehicle approaching them at a high rate of speed. Marshal Crowl yelled a warning to Deputy Everett and then dove out of the path of the approaching vehicle. The vehicle then struck and killed Deputy Everett. Evidence at the scene indicated that the suspect driver and vehicle may have been involved in the earlier accident. Deputy Everett was a veteran of World War I and had been employed by the Rice County Sheriff’s Department for nearly two years. He was survived by his wife Rhea; daughter Bonadee King; and son Kelly Everett.
Panel: 27