Thousands Mourn Trooper and Fire Chief Branden Sisca
State police troopers and area firefighters chosen as pall bearers (at top) remove the casket of Trooper and Trappe Fire Company Chief Branden Sisca from the fire engine that transported it to Perkiomen Valley High School
COLLEGEVILLE PA – The funeral procession, tributes, and final farewells (above and below) to Pennsylvania State Trooper and Trappe Fire Company Chief Branden Sisca, lasting more than 3 hours and attracting thousands of grieving law enforcement officers, firefighters, and ordinary citizens, were completed Saturday (April 2, 2022) in Collegeville with tears, prayers and, on occasion, respectfully deafening silence.
available to a second large crowd using large screen televisions in a nearby auxiliary gymnasium
Sisca, age 29, and fellow Trooper Martin Mack III died in the line of duty Monday (March 21) as they were struck by a vehicle on Interstate 95 near the Philadelphia sports complexes. They were attempting to provide emergency assistance to a pedestrian on the highway; the pedestrian also died in the crash. Mack was laid to rest Thursday (March 31) in Levittown PA.
Their tragic deaths were marked by a nationwide outpouring of support. The event was live-streamed to the country by 6ABC-TV in Philadelphia (above), and attended by Gov. Tom Wolf and his wife (below).
First responders from nearly every state were said to be represented among the overwhelmingly large turnout. Local home owners, police officers, and firefighters stood lined along shoulders of miles of the procession route, stretching from East Norriton to services inside the gymnasium at Perkiomen Valley High School on Gravel Pike, Collegeville. Sisca graduated from the high school in 2010.
Several stories about the services have been produced at length by Philadelphia area media. The Post, intending to be comprehensive, offers a selection of them below.
- Funeral held for Trooper Branden Sisca at Perkiomen Valley High School (6ABC-TV)
- Thousands gather at Perkiomen Valley High School to honor slain Pa. State Police trooper (KYW NewsRadio)
- Thousands Attend PA Trooper Branden T. Sisca’s Funeral (Patch)
- Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Branden Sisca laid to rest following I-95 crash in Philadelphia (Fox 29)
- Funeral Held for 2nd Trooper Killed in Suspected DUI Crash (NBC 10 Philadelphia)
The photos accompanying this story were selected from hundreds taken during the day by veteran and skilled photographer Ted Hodgins of the Perkiomen Township Fire Company, and are used with permission.
