A New Jersey police officer who authorities say was the driver in a hit-and-run that left a teen cyclist in critical condition last month is now facing criminal charges.
Christopher Bucceroni, 28, of West Deptford, has been charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday.
According to Gloucester Township Police, investigators responded to a crash involving a vehicle and a bicycle just before 2:30 a.m. on June 20, at the area of Blackwood-Clementon and Erial roads, roughly 15 miles southeast of Philadelphia.
The cyclist, later identified as an 18-year-old male from Gloucester, “was found in the roadway suffering from serious injuries,” police said in a news release. He was taken to Cooper University Hospital, where he remains in critical condition, officials said.
Bucceroni, the alleged driver of the 2020 Toyota Rav 4 that hit the cyclist, left the scene following the crash, police said. He turned himself in the following day.
According to police, the nine-year veteran “was off duty and driving his personally owned vehicle” at the time of the hit-and-run.
Bucceroni was suspended without pay, though Gloucester Police Chief David Harkins said the department intends to fire him.
“I can assure the community that we are disappointed, and that this type of conduct is not tolerated by me, or anyone else here at the Gloucester Township Police Department,” Harkins said in a statement.
“The men and women that I work with are good and noble public servants who go out day in and day out to serve our community with integrity and honor. We would ask that we not be judged by the off-duty actions of this one officer,” he added.
