Legislation sponsored by Sen. Vince Polistina (R-2) that designates the interchange between State Highway Route 42 and Interstate Highway Route 295 as the “Ensign John R. Elliott Memorial Interchange” was unanimously approved by the New Jersey Senate on May 20.
“I’m proud that the Senate approved my legislation to honor the late U.S. Naval Academy graduate Ensign John R. Elliott, who tragically lost his life in a head-on collision with a drunk driver,” Polistina said in a news release.
He continued, “Ensign Elliott exemplified true leadership and served this country with honor and distinction. In recognition of his service, this bill would formally commemorate his legacy by naming this newly built interchange as the Ensign John R. Elliott Memorial Interchange.”
John R. Elliott, born Nov. 17, 1977, and died July 22, 2000, was named the Outstanding HERO of his graduating class at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis for his service as a human education resource officer in the academy’s Character Development Program.
Bill Elliott, in memory of his son, established the HERO Campaign, a nonprofit organization that encourages appointing a designated driver when attending a night on the town. The Elliott family extended “a heartfelt thank you” to Polistina for sponsoring the Senate bill.
“The Ensign John R. Elliott Memorial Interchange will represent more than a convenient new gateway to the Jersey shore,” Elliott said. “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.”
Read the bill here S-2876.
