Funeral held for State Trooper killed in crash

Story Created: Jan 26, 2010 at 1:52 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jan 26, 2010 at 1:52 PM EDT

CLARENCE, N.Y. (AP) - A casket carrying the first female New
York state trooper to die on duty has been brought past two ranks of somber, gray-uniformed colleagues into a suburban Buffalo church for her funeral.

The service for Jill Mattice has drawn family and law enforcement officials from across the country to Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church in Clarence.

Police say the 31-year-old trooper was driving a cruiser back to the Oneonta barracks from her assignment at a central New York school last week when she collided with a tractor-trailer in Otsego County.

Troopers say Mattice apparently drifted into the oncoming lane. The accident remains under investigation.

The Cheektowaga native was a six-year veteran and had worked as a school resource officer the past 2 1/2 years. She was married with no children.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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