UPDATE: NJ correctional police officer was one of two drivers killed in crash
Sheri Berkery
SPRINGFIELD TWP. - A state correctional police officer from Browns Mills was one of two drivers killed Monday morning when their Ford pickup trucks collided on Route 68.
A passenger in one of the trucks was also seriously injured, police said.
The New Jersey Department of Corrections announced the loss of Officer Chelsea Woods on its Facebook page: "With great sadness, we share the passing of our sister in blue, Correctional Police Officer Chelsea Woods of New Jersey State Prison. We are grateful for her service and together with her friends and family, mourn the loss of a dedicated colleague."
A co-worker said Woods, 26, was coming home from work in Trenton when she was killed.
Now Woods' colleagues have organized a memorial fund to support her family.
"She leaves behind her husband who also is an OFC at NJSP and their two children. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated no amount is too small," said the message posted with a GoFundMe campaign.
Woods was driving a Ford F-350 south on Route 68 at 6:27 a.m. when her truck collided with a Ford F-150 going east on County Road 537, also called Monmouth Road, in Springfield Township, said Trooper Alejandro Goez of the New Jersey State Police.
The F-150 went off the road and struck a tree, while Woods was ejected after her truck overturned, Goez said.
The F-150 driver, Rogaciano Zecua-Zamora, 53, of Wrightstown was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger, Alicia Paez-Capulian, 45, also of Wrightstown, was taken to the hospital for treatment of serious injuries, according to Goez.
Woods was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, where she was pronounced dead, Goez said.
Woods was the second state correctional police officer to die in a Burlington County crash in recent months.
Officer Sean Brown, 34, of Barnegat died July 20 in a head-on crash in Route 72 in the Pinelands.
Brown was driving to work at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Chesterfield when the crash occurred on a Saturday morning, according to the officer's union, NJ PBA Local 105.
For information on the GoFundMe campaign for the family of Officer Chelsea Woods at gofundme.com/f/vtndu-memorial-fund
Sheri Berkery is the trending reporter at the Courier-Post, covering the topics that people are talking about on social media and in real life. If you think you have a story idea that’s a “talker,” contact her at 856.486.2673 or sberkery@gannettnj.com
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