A former Dawson County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s tragic sacrifice will be remembered forever after a portion of Hwy. 53 was renamed in her honor.
As of Monday, Hwy. 53 is now known as Officer Bobbie S. Hoenie Memorial Highway.
Hoenie’s death happened 24 years ago on March 20, 1998. She was leaving her shift at the Dawson County Detention Center to start her second job in Hall County as a 911 dispatcher.
A tornado had passed through Hall County, and Hoenie found a vehicle stranded in a ditch on Hwy. 53.
“The reports indicate that a tree fell down, causing a car to swerve off the road into the ditch,” Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson said. “Deputy Hoenie got out to check on the occupants. After doing so she began to try to remove the tree from the roadway when she was struck by a vehicle.”
The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office held a ceremony on Monday to unveil the new memorial sign.
Former Dawson County Captain Chad White started the highway renaming process when he began researching officers who have died in the line of duty without recognition.
“He was the big catalyst in this and I certainly owe him the credit, as well as Representative Lee Hawkins,” Johnson said. “Obviously this would not have occurred without these two gentlemen being involved.”
Johnson hopes the highway’s new name will share Hoenie’s story.
“Having this recognition, knowing that Bobbie’s memory is being honored [and] knowing that when people pass Hall County on Dawsonville highway and they see her name… If they don't know her story, hopefully they'll research it,” Johnson said.
According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 114 on-foot officers have been struck and killed by vehicles between 2000 and 2021.
Johnson said all drivers should remain aware and alert of their surroundings to prevent needless officer deaths.
There is also a memorial for Hoenie and another fallen Dawson County officer, William Jackson, in one of the agency’s hallways.
“You've always heard that law enforcement is a family, and it is,” Johnson said. “It's an extended family. However, when it's your own agency, obviously it's different as your immediate family. So we keep a memorial up here in the hallway, simply to remind our officers of the frailty and brevity of life as well as to keep and honor the memory of those in our immediate family that did die in the line of duty.”
