James Faraone

Salt Lake City Police Department, Utah

• End of Watch: September 18, 2001

Sergeant James Faraone was killed when his vehicle was rear-ended while he was stopped for a disabled vehicle on I-80 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Another vehicle which had been involved in an accident, stopped in one of the middle travel lanes of the highway. Sergeant Faraone, who was en route from the Salt Lake City Airport to police headquarters, stopped behind the vehicle in his unmarked cruiser and activated his rear emergency lights.

While he was stopped, a pickup truck rammed into the back of his cruiser at approximately 65 mph. The force crumpled the back half of Faraone’s car, trapping him against the steering wheel. Passerby’s used tire irons to pull the roof off of the vehicle so that responders could perform CPR.

Sergeant Faraone was transported by helicopter to University Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The drivers of the pickup truck and the original vehicle were both injured. Investigators later determined that Sgt. Faraone’s actions likely saved the life of the driver of vehicle he had parked behind.

Sergeant James Faraone  was born on July 23, 1953 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and had been a member of the Salt Lake City Police Department for 25 years. At the time of his death, he had been serving as the liaison to the Salt Lake City Airport Police. He is survived by his wife Kelly, son Adam, and daughter Kaitlyn. His body rests at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Millcreek, Utah. 

- Chriss Lyon