We begin with an emotional scene inside the Broome County Courthouse today as Patrick Fitzgerald of Port Crane was sent to prison for killing Port Dickinson police officer Aldo Rossi, Junior.
Fitzgerald admitted to driving drunk and hitting Officer Rossi in July 2008.
NewsChannel 34's Jim Ehmke was in the courtroom as Rossi's widow described how her life will never be the same.
Renee Rossi says, "Aldo's still not here. He's not coming home tonight. The rest of my life I'll have this void, this empty feeling."
Aldo Rossi was directing traffic around a fallen tree on the Brandywine Highway off ramp to Port Dickinson in the early morning of July 27th, 2008. With his squad car lights flashing, he was standing alongside another car, speaking with the driver, when Patrick Fitzgerald slammed into him causing major head injuries. Both Renee Rossi and Aldo's sister Deana told Fitzgerald about the excruciating pain of seeing him lying in a hospital bed.
Renee says, "I wanted to let him know about seeing Aldo that morning in the hospital, how it affected the family. And we'll forever have that vision in our minds of having to say goodbye to Aldo in that way."
For 72 hours, the Rossi family cried and prayed for a miracle at his bedside. When all hope for recovery was gone, Aldo was removed from life support and his organs donated. Fitzgerald had been drinking at bars for hours. His blood alcohol content registered point 37, over 4 times the legal limit.
Renee says, "I just wish someone had stopped him or taken his keys or helped him that evening."
Renee says she was touched by the outpouring of grief and support from friends and the broader police community following Aldo's death. Nearly a thousand people attended his funeral. Renee continues to run Aldo's side business, Budget Auto Glass, and not a day goes by when she doesn't think of him.
Renee says, "Happy go-lucky. Always wanting to help everybody. Always on the go, just loved life. Full of life, he just never slowed down."
Fitzgerald also received a 1 year jail sentence for drunk driving that he will serve at the same time as his 5 year prison term on the homicide conviction.
