A road in Middletown Township could soon bear the name of local hero Detective Christopher Jones.
What was formerly Shasta Road could be renamed Detective Christopher Jones Way.
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Township officials authorized the advertisement for the road renaming this past week in perfect timing with the tenth anniversary of the detective’s tragic death. The township will need official PennDOT approval before the road can officially be renamed.
Shasta Road sits adjacent to the township municipal and police building and will be a road all officers see when coming in and leaving for work each day.
“He’s made a tremendous impact on our community and a tremendous impact on the officers here,” said Chairman Tom Tosti. “The one thing they don’t ever do is forget about him.”
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Jones was on a traffic stop on the northbound side of Route 1 near I-95 on the morning of January 29, 2009 when a driver under the influence collided with his vehicle, pinning him underneath of it. The driver was later convicted of vehicular homicide and sentenced to four and a half to 17 years in prison.
Jones was a 1989 graduate of Bensalem High School and attended a criminal justice course at Chapman University in California while serving in the U.S. Navy. Chris was honorably discharged from the Navy as a Petty Officer 2nd Class after seven years. After leaving the Navy, he returned to Bucks County and worked at the Bucks County Prison for two years as a Corrections Officer, before becoming a patrolman for Middletown Township in 1998.
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At the time of his passing, Jones had reached all the requirements to achieve the rank of detective. Jones was posthumously promoted. His badge number 4466 and patrol car call number 4429 have been retired in his honor.
Jones left behind his wife and three children.
Jones remains the only officer to lose his life in the line of duty in the history of the Middletown Township Police Department.
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