Family, friends and fellow city sanitation workers gathered Monday to pay their final respects to Frank Justich, who was killed on the job last week.

Justich, 41, was standing by his truck on Ditmars Boulevard near 25th Street last week when he was hit by a tractor trailer. He died en route to the hospital.

A crowd made up of more than 1,000 DOS workers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city leaders spilled outside St. Luke's Roman Catholic Church in Beechhurst.

He leaves behind a wife and two young daughters.

Co-workers described him as a great guy whose death sheds light on the dangerous work the Sanitation Department does.

"It's sad. It's very sad," said one DOS worker. "It's tragic. We have a dangerous job. We're in the street all the time. It could happen to any one of us. People need to be more careful."

"We feel terrible about it," said another. "And we're here in force to support the family today. Our prayers are with the family and we hope they can get through this difficult time."

Justich was an 11-year veteran of the department and worked out of the Queens West 1 garage in Astoria.

A fund has been set up in his honor. For more information, go to FrankJustich.com.