FAYETTEVILLE — Family, friends and hundreds of law officers from around the nation gathered Friday to say goodbye to a state trooper.

Trooper John Duncan was killed Tuesday in a car accident. It happened after he started chasing a suspect who took off after being pulled over for speeding. More than 1,200 people, including law officers from as far away as Oregon, came to say goodbye to Duncan.

"Each and everyone of us know we may not come home at the end of the night," says Ryan Weeks of the Sanford Police Department.

Duncan touched many lives as many of his colleagues spoke about his life during the funeral service.

"I'm mourning your husband, but don't be disappointed, because he left this earth as a caring father, son, husband, and also know he left this earth doing the job he was meant to do," says Trooper T.H. Jones Jr.

On the day of his son's first birthday, it was a sad goodbye. It was a day that was especially difficult for Chris Williams. He was the other trooper involved in the high-speed chase. He also tried desperately to save him from his burning patrol car.

"In two years, John made such an impact on my life, and in two minutes, he was taken from me. The biggest question I have now is, 'Why can't I have my friend back?'" he asks.

Last year, Duncan made 148 DWI arrests. During his funeral, Williams says Duncan always strived to get drunk drivers off the street to make his mother proud. His mother was in the auditorium, now a quadriplegic from being hit by a drunk driver.