New Jersey State Police, New Jersey
End of Watch: Monday, June 11, 1962
Age: 25
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: 1605
Cause of Death: Automobile crash
Date of Incident: June 11, 1962
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Trooper Joseph DeFrino, Trooper Milan Simcak, and Trooper Arthur Abagnale were killed in an automobile accident on the New Jersey Turnpike near the Passaic River Bridge in Kearny.
The troopers were accompanying a dump truck, with red lights flashing and traveling at 15- 20 miles an hour when a bus rounded a curve, hit a car, and then rolled onto the cruiser and pushed it into the truck. The driver of the bus stated that his brakes failed. The troopers were pronounced dead at the scene.
Trooper DeFrino was a United States Air Force veteran and had served with the New Jersey State Police for three years. He was survived by his parents, two sisters, and fiancee.