Flags To Fly At Half-Staff To Honor NJ Trooper From Bedminster

BEDMINSTER, NJ — New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has ordered flags to fly at half-staff in honor of State Trooper Brian McNally, who died in a fiery two-vehicle crash on I-78 in Pennsylvania on Sunday night.

“We are incredibly saddened by the passing of State Trooper Brian McNally,” said Governor Murphy. “Brian was a loving son and brother who not only served our state, but also our country as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. Our state will feel his loss deeply. We offer our condolences to the McNally family during this difficult time.”

McNally, 30, who was a Marine, was on his way back home from a duty weekend in the reserves when he was killed at 6:30 p.m., according to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper David Beohm. (See Related: Off-Duty NJ Trooper From Bedminster Killed In PA Crash)

McNally was driving in the left lane eastbound on I-78 near mile marker 40.7 in Greenwich Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. When traffic began to slow down from an active construction zone in Lehigh County, McNalley drove from the left lane into the right lane where he struck the back of a tractor-trailer, Beohm reported.

As a result, McNally's car and the trailer became engulfed in flames. McNally was pronounced dead at the scene by the Berks County Coroner.

The flags have been ordered to fly at half-staff on Tuesday, May 29.

McNally joined the New Jersey State Police as a graduate of the 154th class of the New Jersey State Police Academy on Aug. 29, 2014, and was assigned to Washington Station as a member of Troop “B."

McNally graduated from Morristown High School in 2006 and then earned a degree in Criminal Justice from the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, in 2010.

He accepted a commission with the United States Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant in 2010 and rose to the rank of Captain in Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines.

"Trooper McNally lived a life of service and sacrifice where he sought to protect the freedoms of our nation and to keep our communities safe, and therefore it is appropriate and fitting for the State of New Jersey to mark his passing and to honor his memory," Murphy stated in his executive order.

(Image via New Jersey State Police)

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