Bill honoring Ensign John Elliott heads to governor’s desk

A bill honoring Ensign John Elliott is headed to the governor's desk.

The NJ Senate and Assembly voted unanimously to support S-2876/A-4127 designating the State Highway 42 and Interstate 295 interchange as the Ensign John R. Elliott Memorial Interchange.

“Ensign Elliott exemplified true leadership and served this country with honor and distinction. With the Governor’s signature, this bill would name the newly built interchange between Interstate 42 and Interstate 295 in his honor,” NJ Sen. Vince Polistina, D-Atlantic, said in a statement.

Elliott, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was driving on Route 40 near Woodstown to his family home in Egg Harbor Township on July 22, 2000, when he was hit and killed by a drunk driver.

His death sparked his father to establish the HERO Campaign, a nonprofit organization that encourages appointing a designated driver.

The interchange, which opened in November with two new exit ramps, is expected to improve traffic conditions on local routes and provide a more direct route for travelers.

“Our family wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to Sen. Polistina for sponsoring this bill, which names the new exit connecting Interstate 295 and Route 42 in memory of our son,” Elliott’s father, Bill Elliott, said. “The Ensign John R. Elliott Memorial Interchange will represent more than a convenient new gateway to the Jersey Shore. It also will save lives and would have saved our son’s if it had been available the night he was killed by a drunken driver while traveling home for his mother’s birthday on an undivided highway in July 2000.”

The cost of installing signage will be borne by the NJ Department of Transportation but will be reimbursed with private funding.

Ensign John R. Elliott was named the Outstanding HERO of his graduating class at the Naval Academy in Annapolis for his service as a Human Education Resource Officer in the Academy’s Character Development Program.