MTA Bridge and Tunnel officer laid to rest after fatal on-the-job injury
Thomas Choi was struck by a car in October 2013 as he was reopening the Brooklyn-bound lower level of the Verrazano Bridge. He never regained consciousness and died Dec. 29. More than 400 peace and law enforcement officers from the MTA, NYPD and other departments stood at attention as his hearse drove from the Brooklyn funeral home.
BY PETE DONOHUE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Friday, January 9, 2015, 12:03 PM
Updated: Friday, January 9, 2015, 2:17 PM
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An MTA Bridge and Tunnel officer who was injured on the job more than a year ago and died in December was remembered as a devoted family man and dedicated peace officer during an emotional funeral in Brooklyn on Friday.
"Thank you for everything, Daddy," Tiffany Choi, 23, said during the ceremony for her father, Officer Thomas Choi, at the King Fook Funeral Home at Fort Hamilton Parkway and 70th St. "I love you and miss you."
Choi's widow, Michelle, was so overcome with grief she was unable to speak, so her remarks were read by a member of the Bridge and Tunnel honor guard.
"Rest in peace, my love, my partner. I will always love you and you will always be in my heart," she wrote.
Choi, of Staten Island, the father of three adult children, wasstruck by a car Oct. 20, 2013, as he was reopening the Brooklyn-bound lower level of the Verrazano Bridge. He was moving barrels from the closed roadway when he was hit by a vehicle driven by a 26-year-old New Jersey woman whose vision was impaired by a bright early morning glare, officials said. She was not charged.
MTAChoi is survived by his wife and three adult children.
Choi, 62, never regained consciousness after the accident. He passed away Dec. 29.
"Tom was cooperative, conscientious and, most of all, dependable," Bridges and Tunnels President Jim Ferrara said of the 11-year veteran of the force.
In 2006, Choi received a meritorious service award for the arrest of a motorist driving with a license that had been suspended 179 times. While being transported to a local police precinct, the motorist tried to escape and Choi subdued him.
Tiffany Choi said her father delighted in taking his family on vacations. His other passions were cars and food. He loved taking both relatives and co-workers on tours of his favorite restaurants in Chinatown, the family said.
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More than 400 peace and law enforcement officers from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department, the NYPD and other agencies stood at attention in a light snowfall along 70th St. as the hearse carrying Choi slowly pulled away from the funeral home.
Six members of the MTA Police Pipe and Drum Band led the somber procession, the loud tattoo of the instruments echoing down the block of two-story homes. They were followed by a car laden with flowers with a portrait of Choi in uniform on the roof.
Then came the black hearse, flanked by eight members of the Bridges and Tunnels honor guard on foot.
Finally, an NYPD helicopter emerged from the western horizon and buzzed over 70th St. in a flyover salute as the motorcade, which also included dozens of police cars with flashing lights, headed to a private burial in Valhalla in Westchester County.
