Two New Markers For Fallen Motorists Erected In Falls Twp.

The families of two men killed by DUI-impaired drivers gathered Friday to remember their loved ones.

The first marker was placed in remembrance of Steven C. Bissinger along the 300 block of Lincoln Highway in Falls Township’s Fairless Hills section. The sign remembers Bissinger, who died on August 14, 1982, when he was involved in a crash with a DUI driver.

Despite the 40 years since his death, Bissinger’s siblings – Robert, Dave, and Sue – came out and helped install the marker with the help of Falls Township police officers.

Next, police headed to North Oxford Valley Road and Devon Road in Fairless Hills to install a sign to remember Joseph Michael DeMartino, a motorcyclist who was killed by a DUI driver in 2019 at the age of 20.

Lou and Daneen DeMartino, Joseph parent’s, helped install the new marker that is designed to remember those lost in crashes and remind others not to drive while intoxicated.

The Falls Township Memorial Marker Program began last September after the parents of a Florida-raised servicemember killed in the township brought forward the idea after seeing a similar program in their home state. Blake Sims, the fallen servicemember, was remembered by his family when the first marker was placed along Mill Creek Parkway.

Chief Nelson Whitney and Sgt. Chris Clark have helped facilitate the program.

For the DeMartinos, the sign brings comfort knowing their son will not be forgotten.

“Don’t ruin someone else’s life,” Lou DeMartino said as a warning to DUI drivers.

He said he hopes the sign will save lives.

Daneen DeMartino wears a locket with her son’s ashes and an etching of his face around her neck every single day.

“It is nice,” she said of the sign.

Kimberly Belmont, whose daughter Taylor Bucknum dated Joseph DeMartino, was in attendance for the sign installation.

“He was a really great guy,” she said, noting Joseph DeMartino was like the son she never had.

Representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) of Bucks County, and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office were on hand.

“This is an awesome program that will remind us to take care of others on the roadway,” Assistant District Attorney Julia Wilkins said.

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