GLOUCESTER TWP. — An off-duty police officer seriously injured a teenager in a hit-and-run crash last month, authorities said.
Christopher Bucceroni, 28, was driving his own vehicle when he struck an 18-year-old bicyclist on Erial Road around 2:25 a.m. on June 20, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Bucceroni, who had been with the Gloucester Township Police Department for nine years, turned himself in around 3:45 p.m. on June 21, the DA’s Office said in a statement Monday.
The West Deptford resident has been charged with a third-degree felony: knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury.
Mount Holly woman murdered:: Manslaughter charges for driver who rammed student’s vehicle
The cyclist, who is only known to live in the municipality, is still in critical condition in hospital.
The investigation is still ongoing, according to the Public Prosecution Service.
Bucceroni has been suspended without pay with the intent to fire him, Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins said in a statement.
“I can assure the community that we are disappointed and that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated by me, or by anyone here,” the village chief said.
He asked the public not to judge members of the police force “based on the actions of this one off-duty officer.”
Bucceroni did not stop at the scene of the accident, where the bicyclist was found in the road near Blackwood-Clementon Road, the July 3 affidavit said.
Harkins said city officers “worked diligently throughout the next day to identify the suspect vehicle and driver.”
The investigation was transferred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office after Bucceroni turned in his 2020 Toyota Rav 4.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact District Attorney’s Office Detectives Samuel Funches at 856-397-4000 and Stephen Marakowski at 856-225-2788.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter at the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Christopher Bucceroni charged with leaving the scene of an accident
