EDISON — A volunteer fire chief from Manchester was killed when an SUV entered a construction zone on the New Jersey Turnpike and struck him as he worked, according to New Jersey State Police.
Brian Flanagan, 47, who had served as chief of the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company for the past several years, suffered fatal injuries. Police said the driver fled the scene.
Troopers responded to the crash at 3:52 a.m. on October 13 on the turnpike’s southbound outer roadway near milepost 87.7 in Edison Township. A preliminary investigation found that Flanagan was working within a marked construction zone where two lanes had been closed when a GMC SUV entered the area and hit him.
Investigators later identified Anthony Bernardi, 40, of Edison, as the driver, police said. He was arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree vehicular homicide and second-degree leaving the scene of an accident resulting in fatal injuries.
Bernardi was being held at the Middlesex County Jail pending a detention hearing. The charges are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
State Police said the investigation remains ongoing and no additional details were available.
