‘One of the good ones:’ Phillipsburg cop dies in motorcycle crash

Flags in Phillipsburg were at half staff on Sunday after an off-duty police officer was killed in a motorcycle crash on Saturday night as he tried to avoid a crash.

Officer Dominic Belcastro was riding a Harley-Davidson east on Route 22 around 6:30 p.m. when a car heading for the turnaround near the post office pulled out from Firth Street, prosecutors said.

Belcastro hit the car after he tried to put the bike down on the road, a common way to avoid a crash, but the bike slid past the car and stopped past the intersection.

Belcastro was pronounced dead at the scene, Warren County's prosecutor told LehighValleyLive.com.

No charges have been filed yet against the woman driving the car as authorities await results of blood and urine tests.

"This is a very sad time for our community and I believe we're all grieving together,” Mayor Todd Tersigni told WFMZ TV.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced but the mayor told WFMZ that Belcastro would be remembered "in a way that we've never seen before."

Belcastro was married with two daughters and served for eight years with the department, according to Phillipsburg police. He was a U.S. Army veteran and a member of the Warren County Tactical Response Team.

"Officer Dominic Belcastro was one of the good ones, beloved husband, father and friend," the Warren County Sheriff's Office said on their Facebook page.

A GoFundMe page raised over $53,000 in one day for his family.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ