At 9.25 a.m. Friday 7 September 1979 Senior Constable Mitchell was escorting a wide-load through Port Melbourne. His motor cycle collided with a car at the intersection of Ingles Street and Fennell Street. Mitchell died later the same day at the Alfred Hospital as the result of the injuries he had received. Mitchell's widow Pam was the first police widow to be part of the Police Legacy Scheme.