MOORESTOWN — An off-duty police officer has lost his life in a motorcycle accident in the town he patrolled for more than 20 years.Ptl. Craig Berner, 52, died after his eastbound motorcycle overturned on Westfield Avenue shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday.
The accident threw the Moorestown man from his bike into the path of an oncoming pickup truck, according to a preliminary investigation.
Berner was pronounced dead at the scene.
No injuries were reported to the other motorist, William McGovern, 60, of Mount Laurel.
McGovern, a detective with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, also was off-duty at the time of the
accident.
Township officials expressed shock and sadness as news of Berner’s death spread through the
community.
“It’s such a tragedy,” Moorestown Mayor Stacey Jordan said Sunday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to
his family.”
Berner, the father of three, joined Moorestown’s police department in 1987, according to information at a
website for Moorestown High School alumni. He was a member of the school’s Class of 1979.
“Berner lived his life giving back to others, not only as a police officer but as a former U.S. Marine,”
members of township council said in a joint statement. “There are no words that can adequately express
our gratitude for his service to Moorestown, or our sorrow for his loss.”
Details of the accident were provided by the New Jersey State Police. The agency was asked to take over
the investigation by the prosecutor’s office, said State Police Sgt. Adam Grossman.
“They wanted to avoid a conflict of interest (with law enforcement agencies in Burlington County),” he
said.
Grossman said it was not known what caused Berner to lose control of his 1995 Honda motorcycle.
Staff writer Carol Comegno contributed to this report. Reach Jim Walsh at jwalsh@gannett.com or
(856) 486-2646.
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