HERO Walk marks 25 years since John Elliott killed by drunken driver
OCEAN CITY — “A knock at the door at 4 in the morning is never a good thing,” Bill Elliott said Oct. 19 during the 14th annual HERO Walk on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
His son, U.S. Navy Ensign John Elliott, was traveling home from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on July 22, 2000 when a drunken driver crashed head-on into his vehicle, killing both men on Route 40 in Salem County.
In summer 2001, New Jersey enacted John’s Law, which requires police to impound the vehicles of those arrested for drunken driving for 12 hours, closing a loophole that allowed the motorist who killed Elliott to return to his car after being released from jail.
Bill and Muriel Elliott started the HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, partnering with police departments, bars and restaurants, sports teams and others to try to prevent drunken driving deaths.
Elliott said it was impossible to tell how many lives the campaign has saved — “You can’t have a statistic on something that didn’t happen” — but noted the number of DWI incidents in New Jersey has declined.
Eddie G. Mayers III
6-3-2005 to 8-29-2025
On Aug. 29, Eddie Mayers III was a passenger in a pickup truck driven by a friend who was impaired. The friend, who escaped the crash with minor injuries, was driving in Pilesgrove Township when the vehicle ran off the road, struck a tree and utility pole before overturning several times, according to New Jersey State Police. He admitted to drinking six or seven beers before the accident, according to authorities.
Mayers, 20, of Mullica Hill, was thrown from the vehicle and died of his injuries, police said.
He was a hard worker who loved the outdoors, enjoying boating, fishing, riding motorcycles and golfing, according to his mother, Marie Yacura. He had graduated from high school two years prior and had earned a certificate to work with his father in his well-drilling business.
Yacura and Mayers’ father, Eddie Mayers Jr., attended their first HERO Walk on Sunday, less than two months after their son was killed.
“It’s special, it’s nice,” he said of the event, tears gathering in his eyes from a wound still fresh.
Mayers said the driver had just had an ignition lock removed from his vehicle after his second charge of driving while intoxicated when the crash occurred, and was traveling at a very high rate of speed.
“The laws and the standards in the state of New Jersey for this kind of thing really need to be changed, because to have your first DUI on paper, you don’t even ever lose your license. You just get an interlock device put on your car,” he said.
Mayers said the event showed him his family, which includes 10-year-old Jaxson Mayers, is not alone in the grieving process.
“To come to events like this and be around other people that are going through the same stuff or have gone through the same stuff is nice,” Mayers said. “I’m glad that we’re here being a part of it and we’re gonna be part of this for many, many years to come,” Mayers said.
HERO tow truck
Each year, the HERO Campaign unveils one or more vehicles wrapped in its logo, usually police patrol cars, now numbering 41. This year, for the first time, a tow truck was unveiled.
“This hero truck we’re gonna unveil really applies to John’s Law because there’s 20,000 to 30,000 arrests in New Jersey every year,” Elliott said. “I don’t think it’s going to be the last.”
Pat and Valerie Aiken, owners of Courthouse Towing, agreed to have their truck wrapped to bear the organization’s message.
“We just thought it’s a nice way to support the family and their loss as well as anybody else’s losses, and then also make it so that people see this and hope that it will prevent drunken driving as well,” Pat Aiken said.
– STORY and PHOTOS by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
