Brooklyn, NY - January 5th, 2015 - MTA Bridge and Tunnel Officer Thomas Choi will be honored with a full, line of duty funeral to be held next week Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9. Officer Choi, who was critically injured by a vehicle while reopening a roadway at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in October 2013, passed away on Monday after remaining in a coma for 14 months.
Officer Choi, 62, an 11-year veteran of the agency, became the first Bridge and Tunnel Officer to die in the line of duty in the 81-year history of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, which is formally known as the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.
A viewing for Officer Choi will take place at the King Fook Funeral Home, 6920 Fort Hamilton Parkway, in Brooklyn on Thursday, Jan. 8 between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Final services will be held Friday, Jan. 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by a private burial at a cemetery in Westchester County.
The MTA Bridges and Tunnels Honor Guard will lead the procession during the viewing, and police officers representing departments throughout the tri-state region are expected to line the street outside the funeral home to honor Officer Choi.
Officer Choi was struck by a vehicle as he was reopening the Brooklyn-bound lower level roadway the morning of Oct. 20, 2013. The driver of the car remained at the scene and was not charged.
In 2006, Officer Choi received a meritorious service award for a felony arrest at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge 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 Officer Choi subdued him.
A resident of Staten Island, Officer Choi was assigned to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge his entire career. He is survived by his wife, Michelle, two sons, Calvin and Timothy, and a daughter, Tiffany.
