'Role Model And Mentor': Off-Duty Officer Mourned After Death In Fiery Crash In BurlCo

WESTAMPTON, NJ — An off-duty police officer who is also a U.S. Marine died in a fiery crash Sunday morning in Burlington County, authorities said.

Timothy Long, a Trenton police officer, died in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 295 in Westampton, authorities said.

Long, 50, served the Trenton Police Department for 25 years and was a "proud member" of the United State Marine Corps, says Trenton Police Director Steve E. Wilson.

"His colleagues knew him for his unwavering commitment, pride in serving, and assiduous discipline," Wilson said in a statement. "When the department's Honor Guard was called to raise the colors — whether in the cool dawn of Memorial Day or a heavy heat of an August afternoon, Officer Long was prepared at a moment's notice, uniform squared away, ensuring every detail was perfect."

The officer helped shape the department's culture and served on the police union's executive board, channeling his focus into better training, equipment and working conditions, Wilson said.

New officers gravitated him as he "coached them with a steady hand, a quick wit, and a good-natured laugh that cut through the tension of the job," Wilson said.

"As a role model and mentor, he helped shape our department's culture and set a standard many strike to meet every day," Wilson said.

State troopers responded to the crash at 5:58 a.m. on I-295 North. Long had been driving northbound when he lost directional control, ran off the roadway, and struck a traffic sign and a tree, said Sgt. Jeffrey Lebron, a State Police spokesperson.

Long's Honda SUV caught fire in the crash, Lebron said.

It's unclear what caused Long to lose control of the vehicle. The crash remains under investigation.