Burlington County Sgt. Involved in Moorestown Cop's Death Has History of Accidents

The widow of a Moorestown Police Officer who was killed in a motorcycle accident last year is left searching for answers after learning the officer who struck him was involved in at least six traffic accidents since 1989, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Sgt. William McGovern of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office pleaded guilty to careless driving following a hit-and-run accident in 1989 in Mt. Laurel in which witnesses suspect he had been drinking, according to the report.

Following an accident in 1994, McGovern told an officer he thought he was “riding a bike” as opposed to driving a van, according to the report.

The Inquirer also obtained records of accidents involving McGovern in 1993, 2003 and 2009, and encountered a reference to an accident in 1998 during their investigation.

On July 27, 2013, McGovern was involved in an accident in which Ptlm. Craig Berner, a 26-year veteran of the Moorestown Police Department, was killed while riding his motorcycle off-duty.

Berner, 52, was driving his motorcycle east on Westfield Road around 10 p.m. on July 27, 2013, when he lost control. He overturned and was thrown into the westbound lane, where he was struck by a Ford F-150, being driven by McGovern. Berner died on the scene.

McGovern was also off-duty at the time.

To avoid any conflicts, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and New Jersey State Police conducted the investigation.

Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk told philly.comin June of this year that there was no reason to file charges. Despite McGovern having been drinking earlier in the day, there was no evidence of alcohol in his blood when it was taken six hours after the accident.

Following the latest revelations, Berner’s widow, Carrie, said authorities who let McGovern go time and time again also “have blood on their hands,” according to the report.

For more, visit philly.com.