The first of two Des Moines police officers killed in an accident Saturday will be laid to rest today (Wednesday). Officer Susan Farrell and partner Carlos Puente-Morales died when a car traveling the wrong way on Interstate 80 hit their police S-U-V head on. Farrell’s funeral is this morning at 11 o’clock. Des Moines Police Department spokesperson, Sergeant Paul Parizek says they’ve gotten responses from officers in other states who will attend the funeral.

“We’ve had phone calls from as far away as Georgia, people inquiring about the services. There’s a teletype we sent out to every agency in the nation and we’ve had a lot of response — particularly from the midwest,” Parizek says. He says the funeral procession will stretch between eight and 10 miles. Parizek says things will be congested as they leave West Des Moines and head down the Interstate to the cemetery.

He says they are expecting well over one-thousand emergency vehicles in the funeral procession. The Des Moines Department will stretch ladder trucks over the roadway to hold a large American flag. Officer Puente-Morales’ funeral is set for Friday. Two others also died in the accident, Tosha Hyatt of Des Moines was being transported from Council Bluffs to Des Moines by the officers.

The State Medical Examiner identified 25-year-old Ben Beary, of Knoxville, as the driver of the car which crashed head-on into the Des Moines police S-U-V. The State Patrol is still investigating how the accident happened.

(Radio Iowa)