Officer Killed in Line of Duty Mourned by Hundreds
PASSADENA ---  There was an overflow crowd on Monday, July 26, 2004, of police officers, family, friends and the public who came to pay their respects to the memory of Maryland Transportation Authority Police Officer Duke Aaron II, as well as to his family.

Leaving a young widow, the 29-year-old officer who was known as a high performer on the job of patroling the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and doling out speeding tickets to the lead-footed motorists who make the bridge and Rt. 50 a high-risk zone, Cpl. Aaron was eulogized by his commanders led by Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele.

Aaron was killed last week as he sat in his patrol car on the westbound lanes of Rt. 50 where he had just completed issuing a speeding ticket and was finishing up his paper work.

A pickup truck operated by Albert Gene Antonelli, 32, of Queenstown, on the Eastern Shore, plowed into the back of Cpl. Aaron's cruiser.   An investigation into the crash will aid prosecutors in determining what charges to bring.

So many people attended the funeral for Aaron that loud speakers had to be set up outside the funeral home as there was no more room inside.

Aaron makes the fourth MTA officer to die in the line of duty in the 400 officer strong police agency.