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Funeral service held for FWC investigator Kyle Patterson

35-year-old killed in wrong-way crash in St. Lucie County last week
Kyle Patterson in foreground with flag-draped coffin at funeral, June 17, 2022
Posted at 12:59 AM, Jun 17, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-17 17:20:47-04

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Family, friends, and hundreds of fellow law enforcement officers gathered Friday to say goodbye to a Florida wildlife investigator who was killed in a wrong-way crash in St. Lucie County last week.

The funeral service for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission senior investigator Kyle Patterson, 35, took place at Christ Fellowship Church in Port St. Lucie.

An Honor Guard ceremony immediately followed the service, with law enforcement officers playing bagpipes and waving large American flags.

WATCH HONOR GUARD CEREMONY:

Honor Guard ceremony for FWC investigator Kyle Patterson

Following the ceremony, an official with the FWC presented an American flag — which had been draped over Patterson's casket — to his family. Patterson is survived by his wife and two young children.

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission official presents the American flag to the family of Kyle Patterson, 35, on June 17, 2022.jpg
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission official presents the American flag to the family of Kyle Patterson, 35, on June 17, 2022.

Later on Friday, Patterson's body will be escorted from Port St. Lucie to his hometown of Christmas in Central Florida, where he'll be laid to rest.

Hundreds of law enforcement officials from across the state attended the emotional service.

The Florida Highway Patrol said a 24-year-old woman from Tampa was driving a Kia sedan the wrong way — eastbound in the westbound lanes of Okeechobee Road — and collided head-on with Patterson's unmarked Ford pickup truck on June 9.

Scene of wrong-way crash that killed FWC off
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer was killed in a wrong-way crash, June 9, 2022, in St. Lucie County, Fla.

Patterson was flown to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Just hours before Patterson's funeral on Friday, WPTV Chopper 5 flew over the procession as it made its way from the funeral home to Christ Fellowship Church.

Chopper 5 view of Kyle Patterson's hearse in procession from funeral home to Christ Fellowship Church, June 17, 2022
Chopper 5 flew above the procession as the hearse carrying the casket of Florida wildlife investigator Kyle Patterson was escorted from Haisley Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Fort Pierce, Fla., to Christ Fellowship Church in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed flags to be flown at half-staff Friday in honor of Patterson.