Officer IDed In Memorial Day Crash That Killed NJ Daycare Worker, 19

FRANKLIN, NJ — Officials have identified the police sergeant involved in a fatal crash on Memorial Day in Franklin, which fatally injured a 19-year-old woman.

According to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, Franklin Borough Police Sgt. William Grissom was on-duty and in a marked police car when he collided with a civilian vehicle at around 10:41 a.m. on Monday, May 27.

The crash took place near the intersection of State Route 23 and Walsh Street, and caused life-threatening injuries to Deanna D'Arco, who was a passenger.

First responders took the Sussex Borough resident to Morristown Medical Center, where she later died. A GoFundMe has been set up to help her family with funeral and medical expenses, and has raised more than $17,600 of its $20,000 goal as of Wednesday morning.

"She was a beautiful young woman with so much life to live," the GoFundMe reads. "Deanna loved so hard and was the most vibrant person. At only 19 she was taken way too soon."

D'Arco was also an organ donor, and was able to save other peoples' lives through the New Jersey Sharing Network, her family said. She worked as a teacher's assistant at Little Learners Academy in Jefferson Township after graduating from the New Jersey Youth Corps, according to her obituary with Gaita Memorial Home in Little Falls.

Officials did not say if Grissom has been placed on leave, and have not released further details about how exactly the crash occurred.

Grissom and the civilian driver were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, said AG Matthew J. Platkin's office on Tuesday. As with all deaths that occur during an encounter with an on-duty law enforcement agent, Platkin's office will investigate the crash and determine if evidence supports charges against the officer.