Thousands of people filled the audience for the moving memorial for the motormen killed in November. NBC6’s Marissa Bagg reports.
A community said its final goodbyes Tuesday morning to the three Palm Beach County Sheriff's motorcycle deputies killed in the line of duty.
The motormen, Corporal Luis Paez, Deputy Ralpha "Butch" Waller and Deputy Ignacio "Dan" Diaz, died last month when an SUV struck them on the side of a road just a week before Thanksgiving.
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On Tuesday, a procession and memorial service at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheater, along the same road where that deadly crash happened, were being held.
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The procession departed the Palms West Funeral Home at about 9:30 a.m. Participation in the procession was restricted to family members of the fallen deputies and PBSO personnel only. The service at the Amphitheater was open to the public.
President-elect Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis were in attendance. All three motormen were part of Trump's escort detail.
The motormen were checking for speeders near Lion Country Safari the morning of Nov. 21. It was around 9:15 a.m. when the Pennsylvania driver of an SUV veered off the road and struck all three men.
Both Paez and Waller died at the hospital within an hour of that crash. Diaz died four days later.
Right before the fatal crash, dashcam captured the men working on a motorcycle that wouldn't start on the shoulder of Southern Boulevard near Loxahatchee.
So far no charges have been filed against the driver who struck them.
Drivers are urged to avoid the following areas or expect heavy delays between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.:
- Eastbound Okeechobee Boulevard between Crestwood Boulevard and State Road 7 (8 a.m. - noon)
- State Road 7 between Southern Boulevard and Okeechobee Boulevard (8 a.m. - noon)
- Westbound Southern Boulevard west of Florida's Turnpike (8 a.m. - noon)
- Eastbound Southern Boulevard, Northlake Boulevard and the State Road 7 extension may experience significant delays
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said the public is welcome to pay their respects to the fallen deputies by lining the procession route.
The following are suggested viewing areas:
- Okeechobee Boulevard (State Road 7 west to Crestwood Boulevard)
- Crestwood Boulevard (Okeechobee Boulevard south to Southern Boulevard)
