BROOME COUNTY, N.Y. -- From police stations to community parks, flags are waving at half-staff, mourning the death of Aldo Rossi.

A little before 3 a.m. Sunday morning, the part-time Port Dickinson police officer responded to a downed tree on Route 7 along the Phelps Street off ramp. He walked over to a parked car on the shoulder. Shortly after, police say Patrick Fitzgerald's car swung through and hit Rossi.

"He was a bartender and he had been drinking that evening and we're looking into the exact places he had been," said Broom County Sheriff David Harder.

Rossi was rushed to Wilson Medical Center, but the head and leg injuries were too severe and the officer passed away later that night. He was hired by the Port Dickinson police force in April of last year but had been well-known throughout the community as the owner of a large auto glass business.

"It was something that he didn't have to do. It's something that he liked and he loved to do," said Sean Crouse, Port Dickinson Police Chief.

Rossi had also served in Delaware County since 2004 as a part-time officer for the Deposit Police Department.

"It was something that was in his blood and he was very good at it,” said Deposit Police Chief Don Cantwell. “He was a good community police officer, non-aggressive. He's the type of officer that would pull somebody over and warn them to put their seatbelt on, rather than give them a seatbelt ticket."

The loss is felt the most by Rossi's family -- his father, his siblings and his wife.

"It's just tragic and something they're taking minute by minute," Crouse said.

In addition to the vehicular assault charge, the DA's office will look at any additional charges for Fitzgerald, who is being held at the Broome County Jail. Test results on his exact blood alcohol content have yet to be released.