A Bridgeton man, a 19-year-old New Jersey civilian police officer, was fatally injured while driving to work Friday morning.
62-year-old Daryl “Skip” Akers died in a head-on crash shortly before 6:15 a.m. on Highway 206 in Southampton, state police said.
Akers, who also played youth sports in Cumberland County, was driving north when a pickup truck moving south crossed the center line and crashed into his Jeep SUV, police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene around 18.3.
An unnamed second driver was taken to the district hospital with serious injuries.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Akers, a senior public safety telecom, has served as a coach for many new employees, the state police said in a Facebook post announcing his death.
He was also a training instructor, CPR instructor and assisted in the certification of public safety telecommunications, it added.
“Daryl is survived by his wife, son, daughter and three grandchildren, all of whom will forever remain part of our family of Blue and Gold,” the statement said.
The obituary noted that Akers spent 22 seasons as a coach in the youth football leagues in Cumberland County and 20 years as a public speaker at the Inviting Semi-Professional Baseball Tournament in Bridgeton.
He was president of the Colt Booster Club at Cumberland Regional High School for several years.
Akers, who served in the Navy and the Army National Guard, was also the Scout Chief of the 1st Boy Scout Squadron in Bridgeton.
He was a member of the United Methodist Church of West Park in Hopewell, the obituary said.
Jim Walsh covers state security, economic development and other articles for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
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