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South Jersey couple rededicate mission and memorial where their son died

In the 17 years since a drunken driver left their only son dead, Bill and Muriel Elliott have worked to prevent future such tragedies.

Bill Elliott talks about his son,  who was killed by a drunk driver in 2000 while driving home to New Jersey.
Bill Elliott talks about his son, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2000 while driving home to New Jersey.Read moreMelanie Burney

Bill and Muriel Elliott had a bad feeling when their son John, a recent graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was heading home to South Jersey for a summer visit to celebrate his mother's birthday.

A storm was coming. His mother suggested he wait until the next day. But John was looking forward to spending time at the Jersey Shore and celebrating his mother's birthday, so he decided against delaying the drive from Annapolis, Md. After picking up his girlfriend in Baltimore, the Navy officer began the trek home.

Early on July 22, 2000, John R. Elliott, 22, the couple's only son, was killed in a head-on collision with a drunken driver in Salem County, N.J., about an hour from his parents' Egg Harbor Township home. Police knocked on their door at 4 a.m. with the grim news: John had been killed, along with the other driver; his girlfriend survived.

"We had a foreboding. We both did not sleep well that night," Bill Elliott recalled.

On Friday, the couple visited the spot on Route 40 in Upper Pittsgrove Township where their son died to mark the 17th anniversary of his death and rededicate a roadside memorial in his honor. They also touted a growing campaign they launched shortly after his death to curb drunken driving.

"It is a bittersweet day," Bill Elliott said on the edge of a corn field just a few feet from the memorial. "This is sacred soil that we have consecrated today."

The roadside memorial — a cross standing several feet high and an engraved marker — was erected in 2002 by a dairy farmer who lives across the street from the crash site. It recently got a face-lift, which was unveiled Friday. Volunteers from the Bricklayers and Ironworkers trade-union councils installed railing and brick pavers around the site.

"You have to feel terrible," said James Eller of Hidden View Dairy, a 300-acre farm, who designed the original memorial. "We're all Americans. If it happens to one, it hurts everyone."

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney along with Assemblymen John Burzichelli and Adam Taliaferro, announced at the dedication that a section of Route 40 will be designated the "John R. Elliott HERO Campaign Way." The lawmakers sponsored recently enacted legislation for the roadway designation.

"This dedication will honor his service to the country and memorialize his legacy," Sweeney said in a statement. "He was a true hero whose memory will live on."

Elliott graduated from the Naval Academy in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in systems engineering and had planned to attend flight school to become a pilot. His classmates named him Outstanding HERO (Human Education Resource Officer) of his class for his service to his fellow midshipmen. They also gave him the nicknames "Admiral" because of his leadership, and "Jumbo" because of his big smile, according to his father.

The fatal head-on collision occurred when the drunken driver's SUV crossed the center line, striking Elliott's 1994 Nissan Altima. Earlier that evening, the other driver had been arrested on DUI charges and was released to a friend. The friend allowed the intoxicated driver to get back behind the wheel of his SUV.

"Our son did everything right," Bill Elliott, a retired hospital administrator, said. "He did not deserve this. But neither does anyone who is hit and killed. The point is that drunk driving does not discriminate against anyone."

A few months later, Bill and his wife started the HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, which is trying to register a million drivers. The nonprofit campaign currently is present in seven states and works with law enforcement, schools and bars to keep drunk drivers off the road.

The campaign message has been plastered on billboards, and decals and magnets are also used to encourage the use of sober designated drivers. Those who take the pledge can get a free nonalcoholic beverage at participating bars and taverns.

"It's not just a social nuisance," Elliott said. "It's a plague. And it's one that can be easily solved."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, alcohol was involved in 10,265 traffic deaths in 2015. Every day, 28 people in the United States die in drunken-driving crashes.

Bill and Muriel also worked to get John's Law passed in 2001. The legislation gives police in New Jersey the authority to seize the vehicle of a suspected drunk driver and hold the driver for up to 12 hours.

Michael Pangle, the driver who died in the crash with Elliott, had been arrested with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal definition of drunken driving and charged earlier that night. State police released him to a friend who drove Pangle back to his SUV three hours later.

The friend who picked Pangle up from police custody was charged with manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and aggravated assault. His trial ended with a hung jury and a second trial wasn't held.

Bill Elliott said the family finds comfort in trying to change behaviors and enact laws in their son's honor so that no other family suffers such a devastating loss. "We miss him every day."