Stanhope pedestrian dies after being struck by vehicle

BY ERIKA NORTON
STANHOPE - A 60-year-old woman from Stanhope was killed Friday, September 22 after being struck by a car driven by an off-duty Long Branch police officer.
At about 10:15 p.m., Karen Borkowski, 60, was struck by a vehicle along Ocean Avenue in Long Branch, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. Off–duty Long Branch Police Officer Jake Pascucci, 28, was traveling southbound on Ocean Avenue at the intersection of Broadway when the 2016 Jeep Cherokee he was driving hit Borkowski.
At 10:36 p.m., Borkowski was pronounced deceased at the scene.
“Due to the fact that this accident involves a police officer from the Long Branch Police Department, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office is handling all aspects of this investigation and the Long Branch Police Department is not participating in the investigation,” said Charles Webster, a spokesperson for the Prosecutor’s Office in a statement.
According to Webster, the investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office and it's Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART) is active and ongoing at this time.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to call Detective Eric Kerecman at 800-533-7443.
Pascucci was recognized as Long Branch “Cop of the Month” in February 2015, according to a Long Branch Police Department Facebook post. After serving as a part-time special officer in Long Branch until 2011, and a full-time officer in Oceanport from 2011 to 2014, Pascucci returned to Long Branch PD as a full-time Police Officer.