Hero NJ Police Officer Killed Himself Before Crash: Prosecutor

A police officer who was off duty killed himself Monday before crashing into another car, authorities said. The man has been recognized as a hero who once helped save lives in a fire.

Tom White, 44, the Hamilton Township police officer, killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound around 3:10 p.m. Monday on the 2700 block of Nottingham Way in Hamilton, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.

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Soon after, first responders found White unresponsive, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. White's truck had just collided with a white commercial van. The driver of the van was not injured.

White was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy conducted Tuesday morning by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that White was the victim of an off-duty, self-inflicted gunshot wound. The death was ruled a suicide.

"Officer Tom White touched the lives of thousands of young people in Hamilton Township through his work with the LEAD program, as Officer Friendly, and as the director of Safety Town. He will be sorely missed, as an officer and a good friend," Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said.

White and another officer were credited with saving two people who were seriously injured in a 2011 fatal house fire on Forman Drive in Hamilton.

White and Nicholas Avanzato smashed their way through a front window to rescue Jacqueline Preston, 59, and her husband, Thomas Preston, 60, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office. Two others died in the fire.

"Officer Thomas White was a fine officer that performed his job well and was extremely well-liked. He will be greatly missed. On behalf of the entire Hamilton Police Division, our thoughts and prayers are with Officer White's family," Hamilton Police Chief James W. Collins said.

In 2011, then-Mercer County Prosecutor Joe Bocchini and Hamilton Township Police Chief James Collins said in a statement at the time that White and Avanzato were "truly heroes."

"Their quick reaction and selflessly placing themselves in extreme danger saved the lives of two people," they said.

Some took to social media to pay tribute to the officer:

Photo courtesy of ABC6