Hundreds of friends, colleagues and family members paid their respects Thursday to a rookie NYPD officer killed in a crash on a Bronx highway over the weekend.
Funeral services for Michael Williams. 25, were held in the Hudson Valley. He was buried in Union Valley Cemetery in Mahopac in neighboring Putnam County.
Williams died early Sunday when the van he was riding in hit a concrete barrier on a Bronx expressway. Eight other officers being transported to their work assignments were injured.
The rookie officer graduated from the police academy just months ago and joined the NYPD earlier this year. He previously worked as a part-time sheriff's deputy.
"It's always a sad day when we lose one of New York's finest, but there's a special sadness today because we lost such a good man," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "Such a young man."
Williams was an only child who was following in the footsteps of his father, a police officer in Carmel.
His parents were presented an American flag at the funeral and embraced by his extended family in blue.
Williams enjoyed playing golf and basketball, and leaves behind his parents, grandmother and a number of aunts, uncles and cousins, all of whom said the "NYPD was his life."
Follow Marc Santia on Twitter @MarcSantia4NY
Local
Chopper fly over and final farewell to NYPD Officer Michael Williams. #nypd https://t.co/NCmmz5Q9iQ — Marc Santia (@MarcSantia4NY) September 25, 2014
