NJ Veteran, 27, Killed In Jersey Shore Motorcycle Crash: Police

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ - A former U.S. Army Sergeant and West Long Branch resident died in a motorcycle crash near the Jersey Shore earlier this month, police and family members said.

On June 13 at around 8:45 a.m., Ocean Township police responded to a report of a motor vehicle crash involving a motorcyclist on Monmouth Road near Brookside Avenue, police said in a statement.

The motorcyclist, later identified as Dennis Vaccaro, 27, of West Long Branch, was treated on scene and was transported to a local hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

A crash investigation was conducted by Patrolman Ryan Krug of the Traffic Safety Bureau. Details regarding the circumstances leading up to the crash were not immediately available.

Vaccaro, a former airborne combat medic and sergeant who spent four years in the military (including a tour of Afghanistan), was kept on life support for days following the incident in order to donate his organs, his family wrote in an update on GoFundMe. Through his organ donation, four individuals’ lives were saved, the post reads.

Loved ones also announced the formation of the Dennis Vaccaro Foundation, which will raise money to benefit veterans affairs, The Sharing Network and Shore Regional students wishing to pursue an academic scholarship or “wishing to take an alternative path.”

“Everyone who had the privilege of knowing Dennis knew him as a true friend and a hero,” the GoFundMe page reads. “Dennis made a lasting impact on all of the people whose lives he touched. He was the most positive, outgoing, selfless, and exciting person. His life knew no boundaries when it came to adventure, having fun, being a goofball, or sharing his love with us all.”

You can view the GoFundMe page for the Vaccaro family here.