Thousands paid their respect Monday at the Save Mart Center to two California Highway Patrol officers who died while on duty last week.

“Countless others are alive because of their dedicated service,” said Capt. Dave Paris, commander of Fresno’s CHP.

Six-year veteran officers and CHP partners Juan Gonzalez and Brian Law died last week while responding to a car accident on Highway 99 near Kingsburg.

The accident was incorrectly reported to the officers as being in the northbound lanes. As they approached the scene, Gonzalez, who was driving the cruiser, swerved to avoid hitting a victim in the southbound lane. The cruiser hit a guardrail and overturned. Both officers died at the scene.

“These men were more than just miracle workers for one another, they were classmates at the academy, graveyard [shift] partners and close friends,” said Joe Farrow, CHP commissioner.

“They were men who entered into this profession and served with distinction. Today we are here to honor their lives and pay tribute to their service to this great state.”

More than 1,000 officers in uniform lined streets near the Save Mart Center saluting a funeral procession, which included hearses, police cruisers, motorcycles and funeral-goers en route to the Clovis Cemetery and then to the North Tulare Cemetery.

As the procession exited the Save Mart Center, flanked by saluting Fresno motorcycle police, it passed under a large American flag suspended over Woodrow Avenue by fire engines.

California Gov. Jerry Brown, along with law enforcement officers from across the nation, attended the memorial.

Gonzales graduated from Fresno State in 2004 with a degree in criminology. He was also part of the Nu Alpha Kappa fraternity. He is survived by his parents and siblings.

Law is survived by his wife and three children.