Remembering A State Trooper Who Died Too Soon In Berkeley

BERKELEY, NJ — The New Jersey State Police remember Leonard P. McCandless for his loyalty and fearlessness. On this day 88 years ago, the state trooper died in a motorcycle accident in Berkeley Township. He was 23.

McCandless was born in Cedarville (Cumberland County) on July 24, 1908. He graduated from Bridgeton High School in 1926 and worked for 2 1/2 years as a chauffeur for the John M. Bailey Package Company of Millville, according to NJSP records.

He enlisted with the NJSP on Oct. 1, 1930 as a member of the 23rd State Police Class. The NJSP assigned McCandless to the Toms River sub-station in Troop "C." McCandless served nine months before his fatal accident.

On the afternoon of June 28, 1931, McCandless was motorcycling through what was then Route 4 South in Berkeley Township. As he attempted to pass slower-moving traffic, he collided with a northbound Ford Sedan, NJSP records say.

McCandless suffered from shock due to injuries of his left arm, head trauma and deep lacerations of his left leg, according to NJSP records. He died enroute to the Paul Kimball Hospital in Lakewood — now the Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus.

He was survived by his parents, brothers and four sisters.

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