At a ceremony held Thursday, Nov. 7, state transportation officials dedicated the Ensign John R. Elliott Memorial Interchange, honoring the naval officer from Egg Harbor Township who was killed in a July 2000 collision with a drunken driver.
New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Francis O’Connor joined the Elliott family and state and local officials at the Bellmawr Baseball Park to unveil signs commemorating the new interchange connecting I-295 and Route 42 near Philadelphia.
“John Elliott would have served our nation with honor and distinction had he lived,” said the commissioner. “We are proud to dedicate this interchange as a symbol of his service and sacrifice.” He added that he hoped the memorial interchange would serve as a symbol of the Elliott family’s dedication to ending drunk driving through the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign.
At the ceremony, Second District State Senator Vince Polistina, prime sponsor of the legislation to name the interchange in John Elliott’s memory, said a conversation with Elliott’s father Bill inspired him to pursue the bill. “He told me this new exit would have saved John’s life if it had been available at the time of his death,” remembered Polistina.
He added, “This dedication serves as both a memorial for Ensign Elliott, and a stark reminder to all those who travel along the interchange about the dangers of driving under the influence and the pain that it causes.”
Two months after graduating from the United States Naval Academy, John Elliott was killed in a collision with a driver who had been arrested by police for DUI earlier the same evening, then released to a friend who allowed him to resume driving while still intoxicated.
Bill Elliott said his son would have chosen I-295 if the new exit had been available that night as a safer route to his family’s home at the Jersey Shore. Instead, he chose Route 40, a two-lane undivided highway, where his life tragically intersected with a drunken driver. After two decades under construction, the new I-295-Route 42 Interchange opened in November 2023.
Twenty brightly colored HERO Patrol Cars from police departments throughout New Jersey also were on display at the ceremony, wrapped with blue and gold symbols of the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, dedicated to his memory. The newest HERO Patrol cruiser from Lower Township was unveiled at the event.
In 2001, the State of New Jersey also enacted “John’s Law,” which requires police to impound the cars of those arrested for DUI for 12 hours, to prevent them from driving while still intoxicated. According to the State Police, 24,000 cars are impounded annually under John’s Law.
At the Naval Academy, John Elliott was named the Outstanding HERO of his graduating class for his service as a Human Education Resource Officer and the Academy’s Capstone Leadership Seminars were established in his memory. Ensign Elliott was laid to rest in the Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis.
The HERO Campaign has grown into a regional movement partnering with schools and colleges, law enforcement, bar and tavern owners, and NFL and Major League Baseball teams. More than 150,000 motorists have signed the campaign’s online HERO Pledge to be designated drivers for their friends and families.
For more information, go to www.herocampaign.org.
