Retired Milford Cop Honored for Heroic Action

Milford resident and former police sergeant Joe Della Monica, Jr. received an official citation from the Connecticut General Assembly this week for coming to the aid of a crash victim on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey just moments before the vehicle exploded.

Della Monica told the Connecticut Post that the crash happened right in front of the car he was traveling in with his wife, son and father — former Milford Alderman Joe Della Monica, Sr. — on the afternoon of July 20 and he quickly pulled over to assist.

Della Monica, an off-duty New Jersey officer and an EMT were able to get the driver out of the vehicle and away to safety.

The newspaper quotes Washington Township Fire Chief Walter Jamie Powell as crediting Della Monica’s actions with saving the man’s life.

According to the report, Della Monica “said he suffered only minor burns to his hands and some cuts from punching out the SUV’s back window.”

In a post on Milford Patch, Della Monica thanked State Rep. James Maroney for presenting him with the citation, as well as State Sen. Gayle Slossberg, State Rep. Paul Davis and State Rep. Kim Rose, who all co-signed it.

Read more about the accident and Della Monica’s heroic response on CTPost.com.