Nearly 300 mourners gathered outside the Matthew Funeral Home on Tuesday to pay tributes to an ex-MLB pitcher turned Port Authority officer killed in a wrong-way crash on Sunday.
Anthony Varvaro and the driver of the second car, Henry Plazas, did not survive their injuries after Plazas, driving the wrong way, crashed head-on into Varvano’s vehicle as he headed to the World Trade Center to protect the 9/11 commemoration ceremony.
“The coincidence of this happening on Sept. 11, When he’s on his way to work a security detail for paying homage to the folks we never forget – we lost 37 officers on that day – and he was part of the security detail for that,” Port Authority Police Superintendent Edward Cetnar said.
“It’s an amazing attribute to him that where he came from – playing major league baseball on the world’s biggest stage – and then his dream was to be a police officer, and he followed that dream after living his dream of being a professional baseball player.”
