By Eileen Buckley
Amherst, NY – A funeral services was held in Amherst Tuesday for the state's first female trooper to die while on duty.
Trooper Jill Mattice, 31, was killed last week when her cruiser drifted into oncoming traffic and hit a tractor-trailer in Otsego County.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the state paid their final respects to Mattice at the Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church on Greiner Road.
Troopers lined the outside and lobby the church. They served as honor guard as her flagged draped coffin was carried into the church.
Mattice served as a School Resource Officer for two schools in Oneonta. State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt talked about Mattice's work as a trooper.
"Jill's life ends in a semi colon. It really means that even though she is not here with us, her legacy lives on. Those children that she interacted with on a day to day basis will remember her forever, not just for what she did, but the imprint she made on their lives," said Corbitt.
Mattice was grew up as Jill Farrar in Cheektowaga. She graduated from Cleveland Hill High School in 1996.
Governor David Paterson also spoke at the funeral to offer his condolences and support on behalf of the state.
"Six years on the force from Tonawanda all the way to Oneonta. Her life was filled with success on the highway patrol, protecting our schools and being just a good neighbor and good friend and good family member to everyone," said Paterson.
The cause of the crash is still being investigated.