By Dustin Brown
Robert Ambrose was a big guy.
A 6-feet-4 inches feet and 260 pounds, the state trooper from Floral Park, L.I. was a teddy bear of a man who would do anything to help someone out.
He was doing just that, aiding some motorists involved in a two-car accident on the New York State Thruway, when a speeding SUV crashed into his police cruiser Dec. 19. Both vehicles immediately burst into flames, killing Ambrose and the other driver.
As they remembered the five-year veteran at a funeral service Dec. 23, family and friends kept saying that his physical stature was surpassed only by the depth of his compassion, the strength of his spirit.
But the service revealed that in death, Ambrose still boasts yet another attribute of great enormity: his legacy.
“Big soul, big heart, big guy. He’d do anything for anybody,” said Trooper Dan Leon in a short, heartfelt eulogy.
Thousands of police officers from troops across the country stood in formation along the grassy square surrounding the Floral Park war memorial, row upon row of uniformed men and women paying respects to a fallen comrade.
They saluted as Ambrose’s flag-draped coffin was carried down the steps of Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church, dispersing only when the roar of the motorcade faded to silence as police vehicles escorted him to burial.
Ambrose leaves behind his parents, Wayne and Evelyn, as well as his brother and sister, Paul and Christina.
“Everywhere you went you were noticed, and not just because you’re a giant,” his sister said through tears as she spoke to Ambrose in her eulogy. “You are the smile that lit up a room. You’re just a big, happy cuddly teddy bear, and I don’t know how I’ll live without your smile.”
New York State Police Superintendent James McMahon said a former commander described Ambrose as “a gentle giant, a big kid,” a person who had the “energy and enthusiasm of a 15-year-old teenager contained in the body of a 31-year-old.”
Gov. George Pataki told the crowd that Ambrose, like all men and women in uniform, is a modern-day hero without whom “our freedom is just paper.”
“He loved people, he loved animals, and it seems that everyone who met him loved him as well,” the governor said. “Trooper Ambrose died tragically, but honorably in service of the people of New York.”
Few wanted to talk about the accident that killed Ambrose, a tragedy some believe could have been prevented had a protective shield been installed around the gas tank of his Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser. Ford is installing such shields in police vehicles across the country because critics contend they are prone to explode in rear-impact collisions, although the National Highway Safety Administration concluded the tanks surpass safety standards.
“Troopers have faith in their superiors,” said Lt. Brendan Casey, who has worked with Ambrose. “They’re not gonna let us go out there and endanger our lives unnecessarily.”
But some old friends thought there were still too many unanswered questions.
“Why didn’t they retrofit the car? It’s such a senseless tragedy, especially around Christmastime,” said Terri Tupper, 34, a nurse from Floral Park who lived in an apartment in Ambrose’s house as a child. “They were really a wonderful family. It really is senseless what happened to him.”
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
