Decorated pilot victim of tragic accident
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
12/27/2009

A decorated Air National Guardsman was killed Monday, Dec. 14, as an out-of-control vehicle struck him while he was trimming a tree in his front yard on Route 70.

Lt. Col. Mark Jennings was killed Monday morning around 10 a.m. as he trimmed a tree in his front yard in the Erlton section of Cherry Hill. According to Cherry Hill Police, Stephen Moffa, also a township resident, was driving his 2006 Pontiac GTO at a “high-rate” of speed when he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a tree that Jennings was trimming. Moffa also was killed. The accident occurred near the corner of Route 70 Westbound and New Hampshire Avenue.

Moffa was 41-years-old and resided on the 400 block of East Chapel. Jennings was 44. Jennings was a decorated veteran of the Air Force for the past 17 years, according to Major Yvonne Mays, public affairs officer for the state’s Department of Military and Veteran’s Affairs. He was also married, she said, and the couple had no children. He was also survived by his parents.

According to an obituary provided by the Walker Family Funeral Home in Toledo, Ohio, Jennings grew up in rural Ohio and was an avid outdoorsman. One of his passions, the author of the obituary wrote, was buying and fixing homes in cities where he was stationed.

He owned five homes throughout the country. It was in the maintenance of one of these homes that he was killed.

After his active duty Jennings went on to fly commercially for Delta Airlines, flying transatlantic routes to European destinations.

Jennings currently was a member and flew with the 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor Township. According to wing representatives, Jennings was also an F-16 pilot assigned to the 119th Fighter Squadron. He had served in the active Air Force and the Air National Guard for approximately 17 years and joined the 177th in August of 2007.

He served in several different units during his career, including an assignment to the National Guard Bureau as a member of the Air and Space Operations Staff. Jennings earned several awards and decorations throughout his career including the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, and Air Force commendation Medal.

Mayor Bernie Platt lauded the late Jennings and said the township is worse for having lost an American patriot.

“The events that took place on Route 70 on Dec. 14 were tragic, heartbreaking and disappointing. That morning we lost a dedicated public servant and a patriot who has served our country’s military honorably over the course of 14 years,” he said. “The country and our township have lost a hero who served to protect our freedoms, while fighting abroad in foreign lands.”

Council President Steve Polansky also commended Jennings and his service to his country at last week’s council meeting. A brief moment of silence was held in honor of the Air Force veteran.

Cherry Hill Police Lt. William Kushina said in a press release that Moffa lost control of the vehicle while driving in the left hand lane, veered over both the right lane and the road’s shoulder, and then struck a utility pole and the tree that Jennings was trimming. It’s unknown at this time, Kushina said, if Moffa was under the influence of any substance that would impede his driving. Toxicology reports will be available for the investigation, he said, in six to eight weeks.

Fatal crashes such as this typically are a long-term investigation, Kushina said. The department will be going through the wreckage and accessing the car’s onboard computer, which can give them crucial information as to how fast Moffa was driving, if the airbags deployed, if he was wearing his seatbelt, and other elements that may have contributed to the crash.

“Any fatal crash is a long-term investigation, not a short-term investigation. We’ve had more witnesses come forward since that day, and we’re taking information from the moments preceding the crash,” he said. “We’re trying to paint a storyline to see what happened.”

The accident is under investigation by the Cherry Hill Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit. Anyone with any information regarding this accident should contact Officer Ron Harrison at 432-8859.