Greene County Sheriff Deputy Aaron Roberts' widow never thought she'd see his car running well again — let alone looking like new.

But she got both during a restoration reveal Tuesday at Rick's Automotive.

Aaron Roberts, 35, drowned after his patrol car was swept off the road in rushing water Sept. 7, 2018. He had just cleared a call when he radioed in that his car had been washed off the roadway. After an extensive search, Aaron Roberts was found in his patrol car just north of Fair Grove.

Related:Deputy Aaron Roberts lived and died selflessly

Kim Roberts said Monday that her husband's 1995 GSX Eclipse was sitting in her garage, not drivable.

"It wasn’t, like, in shambles," Kim Roberts said. "The brakes were taken apart. We had it up on jack stands because we didn’t want the tires flattening and stuff like that."

In the days following Aaron Roberts' death, Sheriff Jim Arnott said he and others were helping Kim Roberts clear out her garage when he spotted the vehicle.

"It just hit me and I asked Kim. I said: ‘Tell me about this car,'" Arnott recalled.

So, she told him.

Aaron Roberts bought the vehicle in August 2003, Kim Roberts recounted March 19. She had just gotten a Ford Ranger and Aaron Roberts told her about his Eclipse.

"He was like, ‘Here’s my number if you ever want to go for a ride,’" Kim Roberts said. "I didn’t call him until November because I wanted to show up to a Christmas party in his car."

Kim Roberts said she might have only gone on a date with Aaron Roberts for his car at first, but she knew that there was something about him.

"I ended up calling my best friend that night and telling her that I was going to marry him," Roberts said. "The joke is that I married him for his car. I dated him for his car, I know that."

This car is a piece of her husband, Kim Roberts said.

"His heart and soul’s in this car. He rebuilt the engine in our apartment in the dining room area," Kim Roberts said. "He had his hand in all of that. The only thing that he did not replace in this car was the clutch because that was before he knew anything really about cars."

The car took a back seat when the couple had their daughter, Lydia, in 2011 and had sat in the garage since then, she said.

"We were going to get brakes and stuff put on it and I’m sure he was going to roll it around a little but that was about it. I had no idea it would be this awesome," Kim Roberts said.

Arnott asked Kim Roberts if she would let him restore the car.

After months of work, the restoration was completed this past week and several businesses donated their services for the process, which would have cost approximately $7,000, Arnott said.

"I think it’s a proud moment and I’m proud of my community — that’s the big thing," Arnott said.

Kim Roberts said she is so grateful for the community support following her husband's death and in this project.

"There were so many different hands in this car and it just blows my mind," Kim Roberts said. "My mind can’t even wrap around how many people helped in this."