A local champion — who worked in several area police departments — was laid to rest in Orange County.

The village of Washingtonville shut down Monday morning to make way for a procession to Saint Mary's Church.

After retiring from the New York Police Department in 2001, Jose Santiago worked as a part-time officer in Montgomery, Highland Falls, and finally, Washingtonville.

He died last Saturday at 65 years old.

"I loved him dearly, man," said Frank Agresti, whose daughter married Santiago's son.

Agresti said Santiago and his wife were driving on Route 17 to pick up Agresti's grandchildren for a sleepover last Saturday evening.

That is when a driver going the opposite way crossed the median, hitting the Santiago's car.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His wife, Blanca, survived.

"The whole effect of him being gone, I don't even feel yet," Agresti said. "None of us do, I mean, it was so sudden."

Friends and family said Santiago was a fan of classic cars, motorcycles and fine cigars.

"As you can see, everybody loved him," Highland Falls Patrolman Gregg Jones said, looking at the sea of mourners outside the church.

Jones said he will miss his weekly outings with Santiago at the local cigar bar.

"I was with him maybe two, three weeks ago at the cigar bar," Jones recalled. "After it's all over and the first Wednesday rolls around that we don't have one, that's when we'll really feel it."

Santiago leaves behind his wife, three sons and eight grandchildren.

His legacy in law enforcement extends beyond the places where he once worked.

Poughkeepsie City Police, where Santiago's son is an officer, sent more than 20 officers to the church Monday to pay tribute.