Township mourns loss of rescue squad prez

BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

For 22 years, Fred Goldberg selflessly helped so many others involved in motor vehicle accidents and other misfortunes.

But the longtime East Brunswick Rescue Squad member tragically became a victim himself Dec. 23 when he was killed in a collision in Burlington County. He was 59.

Goldberg was driving north on Interstate 295 when a southbound driver somehow lost control of his car, crossed the grass median and hit Goldberg’s vehicle head on. Goldberg, who was wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle and thrown into the nearby woods, according to state police. He was pronounced dead at the scene around 7:30 p.m.

Police would not yet release the name of the 20-year-old Evesham man driving the other vehicle while the investigation is pending. State Police Trooper Laurence Peters did say that the man told police his cell phone rang and when he went to answer it he lost control of his car.

The accident occurred in Westampton Township when Goldberg was driving home from work, according to his wife, Florence.

Peters said Goldberg suffered multiple traumas in the crash.

Two other cars were involved in the accident, but the individuals involved refused medical treatment. The 20-year-old suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly.

Road conditions were wet and a light rain was falling at the time of the accident.

No summonses were given, but police are still investigating, Peters said, noting that alcohol did not play a role in the crash.

Back in East Brunswick, Goldberg’s friends and family mourned the loss.

“He was killed by a cell phone is what it amounts to,” Florence Goldberg said.

“He was a good person,” she said. “He was a wonderful father, always there for the kids, for me, his parents, his brother and sister.”

She said he recently went to Paris to see his daughter, who was studying abroad. He made the trip because the two had not seen much of each other recently. He also took Dec. 21 off from his job — he was a longtime employee of Lockheed-Martin in Marlton, serving as manager of network security — to take her to the doctor’s office, and the two wound up spending the day together.

“Whenever anyone needed another pair of ears, he was there,” she said. “He was always the voice of logic.”

Goldberg had married Florence right out of college, and the two were married for 37 years. They had two sons and a daughter.

East Brunswick Rescue Squad Capt. Lisa Grande said Goldberg will be sorely missed.

“He was very, very helpful,” she said. “He did a lot of stuff for the squad.”

Notable among his achievements were his recent effort to get retirement benefits for the more active squad members through the Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP), and his overseeing many of the squad’s committees.

In his more than two decades with the rescue squad, Goldberg served as president, vice president, recording secretary and representative to the New Jersey State First Aid Council, where he was very active and served as the district’s recording secretary. In 2005, he was to return to his role as the squad’s recording secretary.

“He always gave his input and was a very, very fair and smart person,” Grande said.

Goldberg recently contacted her with an idea for a banquet. She is going to use the proposal now as a tribute to him.

“It was great to work with him,” said Tom Paccione, who will now take over as the squad’s president. “I don’t think I ever saw him angry or upset. He always had a plan and knew what to do. He was a very, very smart man.”

Mayor William Neary also spoke highly of Goldberg.

“Fred was a really good man who worked hard for the squad. LOSAP was his baby. It’s a tragedy because his leadership with the rescue squad was tremendous.”

Because Goldberg’s two-year term as president was up at year’s end, the squad had already chosen Paccione as his successor.

“It’s going to be tough not having him there,” Paccione said. “I was counting on him for guidance.”

Steve Zeidwerg, five-year trustee of the squad, worked closely with Goldberg on many administrative projects, most recently in an effort to replace the squad’s outdated paging system.

“Fred was a genius, very analytical,” Zeidwerg said. “He had an idea in his head of how he wanted the squad to progress, and he worked diligently to get there.”

Services were held Sunday at Congregation Young Israel, Dunhams Corner Road, with private burial at Washington Cemetery, Monmouth Junction.