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Tow truck drivers line streets with American flags to pay respects to 3 fallen Palm Beach County deputies

'I asked to be here and share this moment, this tragic moment, with them and their families,' Yovani Calderon says

Hundreds lined the streets Tuesday to pay tribute to three fallen deputies as they were escorted from the Palms West Funeral Home in Royal Palm Beach to a memorial service at the South Florida Fairgrounds.

By: Michael Hoffman

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ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. — Hundreds lined the streets Tuesday to pay tribute to three fallen deputies as they were escorted from the Palms West Funeral Home in Royal Palm Beach to a memorial service at the South Florida Fairgrounds.

WPTV reporter Michael Hoffman was there along the procession route and some to members of the community grieving the loss of the law enforcement
officers.

Hundreds of people gathered outside Royal Palm Beach High School on the somber day to watch the procession for Deputy Ignacio "Dan" Diaz, Deputy Sheriff Ralph "Butch" Waller and Cpl. Luis Paez.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the country were part of the procession to honor and mourn the lives of the fallen deputies.

Among those showing their support were the tow truck drivers who work closely with the sheriff's office, displaying flags to pay their respects.

Yovani Calderon explains why it was important for him to pay his respects to the deputies.

"They help us, we help them," Yovani Calderon, owner of Palm Beach Finest Towing, said.

The tow truck drivers who work with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office lined the roads and highways. They came together and hoisted flags from their tow hooks along the side of the procession route.

"I asked to be here and share this moment, this tragic moment, with them and their families," Calderon said.

"Unbelievable," Timothy Day, owner of Sisters Towing, said. "[I] just couldn't believe it.

Timothy Day was among those who lined the streets to honor the fallen deputies.

Day said his company has worked with the sheriff's office for 20 years. It was his crew that responded to the Nov. 21 crash that claimed the deputies' lives.

"We covered the motorcycles for the sheriff's office so nobody could ... gawk at them," Day said. "Very sad day. [I] wish we wouldn't have to do this."

The deaths of the three Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies marked the fourth, fifth and sixth law enforcement officers to be killed in the line of duty this year.

Read more of WPTV's coverage of the tragedy below: