A five-year veteran of the Union Beach Police Department was killed in an overnight car crash, according to a statement from his police chief.
Details were not immediately available about the crash that killed Det. Cpl. Timothy Kelly, Jr., 29. His death, however, stunned the law enforcement community.
Union Beach Police Chief Michael J. Woodrow called Kelly a “rising star” within the department who had worked on many high-profile cases alongside a host county, state and federal agencies, according to a statement he released on Facebook.
Kelly followed his father, Union Beach Police Sgt. Timothy Kelly, into law enforcement after the younger man earned bachelor’s degrees in history and criminal justice from the University of Alabama.
New Jersey State Police Benevolent Association also tweeted to honor the younger Kelly.
“Pray for his family and friends,” the state police union wrote.
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Susanne Cervenka covers Monmouth County government and property tax issues, winning several state and regional awards for her work. She’s covered local government for 18 years, with stops in Ohio and Florida before arriving in New Jersey in 2013. Contact her at @scervenka; 732-643-4229; [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Union Beach NJ police detective killed in off-duty car crash