North Brunswick mourns the loss of Lt. Christopher Zerby
Fifteen-year veteran recalled as great family man, policeman
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

Renee McCaffrey said that if her brother-in-law, North Brunswick police Lt. Christopher Zerby, had a premonition that he would pass away one week before he actually did, he would have wanted to take his sons, Tyler and Trevor, to Point Pleasant, he would have wanted to attend a family party, he would have wanted to eat clams with friends, and he would have wanted to take Tyler on a bike ride.

"In one week he [actually] did all the things he would've wanted to do," McCaffrey said.

North Brunswick Police Lt. Christopher Zerby was described as a "dedicated son," a "family man" and a "cop's boss" during his funeral Mass on Saturday, held at Our Lady of Peace Church in North Brunswick.

Zerby, 41, of Robbinsville, was in the passenger's seat of a vehicle being driven by fellow Police Lt. Keith Buckley, 40, of Jackson, during an on-duty shift around 11 a.m. Aug. 12. The vehicle, which was not a township-owned vehicle, was traveling on Route 130, approximately 300 feet south of the Route 1 overpass, when it struck a utility pole.

PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff Top: Police officers from throughout New Jersey salute the casket of North Brunswick police Lt. Christopher Zerby following his funeral Mass, held at Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church in North Brunswick on Saturday. Zerby passed away after a motor vehicle accident on Route 130 south in North Brunswick on Aug. 12. Above: Relatives of Lt. Zerby console each other after his funeral service.

Zerby was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he later succumbed to his injuries. An autopsy performed by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office showed he died as the result of multiple blunt force injuries to the head and chest.

Buckley was admitted to Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick but was released with minor physical injuries. He is currently out on medical leave.

The investigation is being handled by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

"This is a terrible loss of a North Brunswick native and valued police officer who was very well liked and will be missed by all," said Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack.

ERIC SUCAR staff Mourners display their patriotism during the funeral services for North Brunswick Police Lt. Christopher Zerby on Saturday.

Friend and fellow North Brunswick Police Officer Thomas Vingara said he and his boss and colleague had become "the closest of friends" since they lived in the same town of Robbinsville, with their kids playing together and both adults looking forward to their children "getting in trouble together." He said just recently a group of friends took their families to Point Pleasant, going to the beach and on the amusement park rides.

Vingara said Zerby made "time for everybody and everything, no matter what," whether it was taking out his parents' garbage, changing a tire in the dark or just being a jokester. He said he was a professional, and could be counted on as a boss.

"God took a great man that day. I guess he needed someone to make him laugh. He picked a good man," Vingara said.

Zerby was born in New Brunswick and was raised in North Brunswick, where he graduated from high school in 1985. He was originally hired by North Brunswick on Aug. 11, 1993, and was promoted to sergeant in May 2001 and lieutenant in March 2005.

Lt. Christopher Zerby

During his 15 years with the police department he was assigned to the Patrol Division and the Detective Bureau, and since November 2007 he served as the bureau commander of the Traffic Safety Bureau.

He was previously employed by the Middlesex County Park Police from 1992 to 1993, and had attended Caldwell College, pursuing a degree in criminal justice.

However, McCaffrey said Zerby's "first and foremost" job was as a family man.

"Chris was the indestructible one. He was our protector," she said.

McCaffrey said Zerby was the uncle, legal guardian and godfather of her daughter Sophia, and that she "knew Sophia would definitely have a father in Chris."

She said Zerby's parents, Donald and Sara, "raised him right" to be a "loyal and respectful son."

She also noted how the phrase "Christine and Chris," in reference to his wife, Christine Hermann, of Edison, who he married in 1993, "almost instantaneously flowed as one word." She said the two had met as teenagers, and as lifelong friend Tony Bellavia, with whom Zerby worked at Nino's Pizzeria in North Brunswick as a teen, had said, "When Chris met Christine that was it, Christine was the one."

McCaffrey said their marriage was "one to be admired," along with their family life with sons Tyler and Trevor.

"Everything he did, he did to make a great life for his sons," she said.

She also credited Zerby with being a wonderful in-law, taking her family in when they moved to New Jersey, lending support when her mother passed away and taking her father to Philadelphia for doctors' visits when he fell ill. She said Zerby told her, "You only have one set of parents, so you do what needs to be done."

Acting Police Director Kenneth Mc- Cormick said both administrative positions are currently vacant, and he will meet with Deputy Chief Joseph Battaglia to discuss the reorganization of the department.

"[Zerby] was a dedicated family man and he was an outstanding officer who excelled at every assignment he was given, and when we put him in Traffic he proved that it was something he wanted," said Mc- Cormick, who was a friend of Zerby's for over 25 years. "The whole department right now is in shock, and it's going to take us some time to get over this … because he was a young officer who was very well known and liked."

Contributions can be made to PBA Local 160, P.O. Box 7245, North Brunswick, NJ 08902 for a fund to be established in Zerby's memory.