Reserve Deputy Sheriff John Stahl was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident on State Road 7 northwest of Madison while responding to a call of a suspicious vehicle.

   His patrol vehicle struck and broke a utility pole before it overturned several times, caught on fire and he was pulled to safety by three good Samaritans.

   Reserve Deputy Stahl was transported to University of Louisville Hospital in Kentucky with severe chest and head injuries and was in a coma for two months.

   He was later transferred to a rehabilitation hospital with a seizure disorder due to traumatic brain injury.

   He was eventually taken to a transitional care unit, was never able to return to work and passed away on June 8, 2025 at home from a cerebral infarction.

   Reserve Deputy Sheriff Stahl, from Madison and a certified commercial pilot, was survived by his wife, Susan (née Rich) and sister Jaylyn (Howard) Wieland.