With his fellow officers standing guard, Sgt. Frank Gualdino of Yonkers, New York, was honored at his funeral on Wednesday.
The mood at Sacred Heart Church was sombre as his body was carried in a procession. Family, friends, and dozens of officers in dress uniforms celebrated his life and grieved the tragic events surrounding his death.
Gualdino was killed in the line of duty during a multi-vehicle crash on December 1st. He died following a head-on collision with a BMW sedan.
The BMW was driven by a new driver, a 16-year-old who received his learner’s permit just three weeks before the collision. The BMW lost control and crossed the center line. It hit Gualdino’s 2012 Chevy Impala as well as the front of a Westchester County Bee-Line bus.
Several of the bus passengers sustained minor injuries, while the teen driver was taken to hospital with critical blunt-force injuries.
A Sea of Blue
Gualdino was 53 years old and only months away from retirement when he was laid to rest. For over 24 years, he proudly served the Yonkers Police Department and his beloved community.
Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza spoke with ABC 7, a local news affiliate.
“There’s a sea of blue, cops are standing patch to patch to support the family, and I’m getting calls, I’m getting emails, letters of condolences from all over the country right now because everyone wanted to do this for Frank.”
Gualdino is survived by his wife and two children.
