Thousands of law enforcement officers gathered yesterday to say goodbye to a New Jersey State trooper killed in a crash with a deer on May 30.
Officers from as far away as California attended the funeral for Trooper Anthony Raspa at St. Matthias Church Thursday morning, according to The Star-Ledger
"It's a very, very tragic day for us," Col. Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said before the funeral. "It's been a very, very tragic week."
The 24-year-old trooper was driving his patrol vehicle eastbound on Route 195 in Upper Freehold when his cruiser struck a deer before running off the around 12:48 a.m.
He was taken to CentraState Hospital in Freehold where he was pronounced dead. His partner, Trooper Gene Hong, was taken to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in Hamilton where he was treated for lacerations and neck injuries. He released from the hospital the same day and is recovering from his injuries at home.
Raspa was a trooper for a year and a half and graduated from the academy in October 2013.
"He could've been so much in his career," Fuentes said. "But we're going to celebrate his life. Although he was only in our organization for a very short amount of time, he had already made his mark and left his legacy."
