10-Year-Old Struck, Killed by Cop's Car in New Jersey; Mother Intends To Sue

The mother of a 10-year-old boy who was killed in an accident involving a Franklin Township Police Officer intends to sue the township after the officer was cleared of wrongdoing in the accident.

Franklin Township Patrolman Nicholas Locilento was responding to a call when he hit 10-year-old Matthew McCloskey while McCloskey was crossing Route 47 around 7 p.m. Dec. 28, 2014. McCloskey was pronounced dead at the scene.

Locilento was speeding, at a rate of 74 mph in a 50 mph zone, and didn’t have his emergency lights on, NBC 10 reports.

Police are not required to activate emergency warning lights when responding to a non-emergency call, as Locilento was.

McCloskey’s mother, Michelle Harding, intends to sue Locilento, according to the report.

“I am genuinely upset that the prosecutor’s office was making a concerted effort to place blame on my beautiful child trying to play in his neighborhood instead of the grown responsible adults hired to protect Matthew,” Harding told NBC 10.

McCloskey was one of three children involved in a foot race to his friends’ home, crossing Route 47 in the process. Police said Locilento attempted to break before hitting McCloskey, but was unable to. He also exited his patrol car and attempted to save McCloskey, police said.

An investigation conducted by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office has cleared Locilento, who has been on administrative leave since the incident and is under administrative review.

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