Hundreds turned out for a memorial service Tuesday for the Norwich firefighter who died in a crash caused by an alleged drunk driver.
If Ben DeMond had died fighting a fire or trying to rescue someone, it would have been easier to understand, his father told mourners at the service held for the 33-year-old.
"But the way he passed away, at the hands of a drunk driver, while he was driving with his boys to go play soccer, is absolutely inexcusable," said Greg DeMond.
The father came to Connecticut after the crash on I-395 in Montville last Friday that claimed his son's life and injured his two grandsons, aged 4 and 6.
"And they loved him so much," DeMond's sister, Christie Streit, told the crowd. "And for them to have to live the rest of their life without their father is so hard."
4-year-old Cole is out of intensive care at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, according to Streit, but 6-year-old Alex suffered intestinal injuries and a lacerated liver. He's already undergone two operations, she said.
About 500 mourners, many of them firefighters from southeastern Connecticut, filed into the gym at Norwich Free Academy for the two-hour-long service.
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It was organized by the Norwich Fire Department and the firefighters' union.
"It's a sad day for everybody," said Rocco Basilica, the union president. "When you lose a member of service and a brother like in Ben's case where he did a lot for the community."
Willis Goodale, 50, is charged with assault with a motor vehicle and driving under the influence for his alleged role in the crash.
