The services will be held at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Sean Cullen's hometown of Cinnaminson on Monday.
CINNAMINSON TOWNSHIP -- Services for the N.J. State Trooper who died after he was struck by a vehicle while on duty Monday night will be held in his hometown.
A public viewing for Trooper Sean Cullen, 31, will be held from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday and again on Monday from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Saint Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church, located at 2500 Branch Pike in Cinnaminson Township. His funeral mass will begin at 12 p.m., and he will be laid to rest at Lakeview Memorial Park in Cinnaminson on Route 130.
State police said attendees should expect limited parking and are urged to allow additional time for walking to the services.
Cullen died early Tuesday morning at Cooper University Hospital after he was hit as he walked on the shoulder of 295 in West Deptford while responding to a car fire. The 22-year-old woman who struck him remained at the scene. An investigation is ongoing.
Cullen -- who leaves behind a fiance, 9-month-old son, mother, father, two brothers and a sister -- is originally from Dublin, Ireland, but his family relocated to the township 1in 1988 when Cullen was just three years old.
He made an indelible impact on the Cinnaminson community, as Cullen graduated Cinnaminson High School as a star wrestler with more than 100 high school career wins and later returned to the program as a volunteer coach.
"He was beloved by everybody. He was one of the good ones. We're all really distraught," Mike McConnell, a wrestling coach and teacher at Cinnaminson High School, said Tuesday. Cullen continued his career at Lycoming College, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice in 2007, as an All-American wrestler.
His first job in law enforcement was as a part-time officer in Sea Isle City, but he soon joined the ranks of Mount Holly Township as a part-time Class II officer. He spent four years in the township -- where police Capt. Richard Spitler said he was always talking about his dream of becoming a state trooper -- and was hired full-time by Westampton's police department in 2012. He left the township to join the ranks of the State Police in 2014, and was stationed with "Troop A" that operates out of their Bellmawr and Buena Vista stations.
Police officers who knew Cullen from his time serving with Mount Holly and Westampton organized an informal candlelight vigil to honor the fallen trooper. The vigil, which will be open to the public, will be held on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the county's Fallen Officers Memorial in front of the public safety building at 1 Academy Drive off Woodlane Road.
A fundraiser for Cullen's family has also been set up through GoFundMe, and has raised more than $20,000 in just six hours.
"Sean Cullen fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a New Jersey State Trooper," said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, in a written statement. "Sean was quickly recognized as an outstanding trooper by both his supervisors and peers. His family will forever remain a part of the State Police family."
In lieu of flowers, the family asks the donations are made in Cullen's name to the Burlington County Animal Shelter located at 35 Academy Road in Westampton Township.
Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.