Memorial Service Set For Manchester Man Who Died After He Was Hit By Police Car

(Photo Credit: Anderson & Campbell Funeral Home website)

A memorial service has been set for Monday for the Whiting man who died late Saturday night when he was struck along a poorly lit road by a Manchester police officer responding to a call.

According to obituary information provided by Anderson and Campbell Funeral Home of Whiting on its website, a memorial gathering for Keith Adam Atkinson Jr., 23, will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. at Whiting Bible Church, 95 Lacey Road, Whiting, with a memorial service beginning at 4 p.m.

Friends and family posting remembrances on Legacy.com, which hosts the memorial guestbook for Atkinson, recount a man who was a favorite of many with a smile that brightened everyone’s day.

“Keith lightened up my second grade class each day,” wrote Jane Orlando of Forked River. “When I saw him in the hallway of Whiting (Elementary School) there was always a smile on his face and surrounded by friends who loved him. Keith will be missed by many and I was so blessed to have spent a year with him in my classroom.”

“It’s still so unreal that you’re gone,” wrote Steven Pingitore of Fairless Hills, Pa. “Really gonna miss you, you are one of the kindest people I know. Until we meet again, rest in peace my friend.”

“A sweet light in the world that will never go out,” wrote a family member who did not sign the guestbook entry. “Always there to help whenever he could. His heart was made of gold, and anyone who was lucky enough to have him in their lives was lucky enough. I will miss my sweet nephew every day. He was like the son I never had. Thank you God for this gift you have given us, even if just for a short time, and please hold him in your arms with the others who have passed from our lives. He is safe with you now.”

Atkinson, 23, is survived by his parents, Keith and Joann Atkinson; his sister, Jennifer Pribbernow and three nieces, Samantha, Abigail and Sydney Pribbernow, and extended family, according to the obituary information on the Anderson and Campbell site.

A memorial fund has been set up on the GoFundMe website, www.gofundme.com/helptheatkinsons, to help with funeral expenses.

Atkinson was killed when he was hit by the passenger side of the Manchester police car driven by Patrolman Michael O’Hara, who was on his way to a call about 11:15 p.m. Saturday, according to Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Al DellaFave. The prosecutor’s office has said Atkinson was intoxicated, and was wearing dark pants and walking in the road on New York Avenue, which was poorly lit, and that O’Hara tried to tried to swerve to avoid hitting him.

O’Hara was responding to a call from a homeowner reporting an intoxicated person had entered the caller’s home at the time, Della Fave has said.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Toms River Police Department are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call 732-929-2027.