Dad says Manville High freshman killed in crash was 'all-around great kid'

MANVILLE - About a half hour before he died when he was struck by a pickup truck on North Main Street, 14-year-old George Watkins Jr. sent his father a TikTok video of NFL football quarterback Tom Brady talking about how his father is his hero.

In the message, the Manville High School freshman said his father, George Watkins Sr., was his hero.

But the elder Watkins, who didn't see his son's text message until hours later, said his son was his hero.

"Me and my son were tight. He was my shadow and I was his biggest supporter and his biggest fan, he knew that," Watkins said. "He was a great kid. He didn't cause any problems or get into trouble. He was just an all-around great kid."

Watkins expected a large turnout at the candlelight vigil Wednesday evening for the teen at the crash site in front of the municipal building because of his son's popularity.

"He got along with everybody," said Watkins. "It shows how everyone comes together in the community and how much the community loved him."

Watkins said his son was well- known in town and was often seen skateboarding. He said neighbors would give his son rides to school after he left for work. His son was also very respectful to others.

"He was just a loveable person and he always stood up against bullies. He was very protective over his older sister and his little brother," said Watkins adding his son's biological mother died several years ago and he was a single parent before marrying four years ago.

Manville Superintendent of Schools Jamil Maroun said George "was beloved by his peers. He was a student-athlete who played basketball."

George was a member of the Manville High School junior varsity basketball team and on the wrestling team. His father said last year his middle school baseball team won a championship.

According to police, around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday officers were dispatched to North Main Street by the borough hall on a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.

The preliminary investigation indicated a pickup truck was traveling south on North Main Street when the teen was struck as he was crossing the street from the west side toward the Marketplace at Manville shopping center.

The teen was taken by helicopter to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick where he died of his injuries.

Watkins said his son had basketball practice Tuesday. Usually he picks him up after practice, but his son wanted to go to the girls game to support their team. Between practice and the girls game, his son and friends went to McDonald's before going back to the high school for the game.

Watkins said the crash was "a freak accident."

"I know it was an accident," he said.

A GoFundMe.com page called George Watkins Jr. has been set up by his father and the Manville PBA to raise $25,000 for the teen's funeral expenses.

Besides his father the teen also is survived by a 16-year-old sister, a 4-year-old brother and his step-mother. Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Dec. 30 at Manville High School, 1100 Brooks Blvd, Manville.

Watkins' son wanted to be a police officer after he finished school. His son had served as a mentor to younger kids in the Queen City Mentoring Academy, the Plainfield Junior Police Academy for the past few years.

"It's just something he loved doing," Watkins said.

Plainfield Police Officer Bernel Harrison, one of four officers in charge of the Mentoring Academy, first met George when he was about 8 years old and involved in an Evergreen School after-school junior police academy program.

"He loved everything about wanting to be a police officer. He wanted to be an FBI agent. He was very focused on paying attention. He was just a bright kid, he had the brightest smile," said Harrison, a school resource officer. He also helps organize a youth first-responders program during winter and spring school breaks which George was scheduled to assist him with next week at the Plainfield Performing Arts Center.

"He was one of our best students. He came to every event," said Harrison, adding George volunteered to mentor other youths in the summer program after he became too old to participate. Harrison said his young son looked up to George.

"He was a kid who was really dedicated," said Harrison, who wrote a character letter about George. "He's a great kid. He's the type of kid you can give an instruction one time and he gets it and he can relay that same message to other kids."

Although George had always expressed an interest in becoming an FBI agent, during the summer George Watkins Sr. told him his son now wanted to become a Plainfield police officer and continue the mentoring program after the current officers retired.

"It broke my heart. You never know the impact a program will have on a kid," Harrison said.

"So not only was he a staple in the community here in Manville, he always came to work with me, he was my shadow and Plainfield and Union County knew who he was because he was my son and he was always with me," said Watkins, who has worked in the Plainfield Public Works Department for the past two decades.

"He did everything and he was one of those kids that everyone loved," said Watkins, who is originally from the Plainfield area but has lived in Manville for the past five years. "He just drew everyone in. He was the glue for everyone, all his friends, his family."

Tuesday's accident highlighted the need for safety improvements on Main Street, Mayor Richard Onderko said.

In 2016, Somerset County was given a $3 million federal grant in 2016 for pedestrian improvements along a one-mile stretch of Main Street from Dukes Parkway on the north end to Kennedy Boulevard on the south end.

That project has just gone out to bid.

"The federally funded pedestrian safety Main Street project has clearly taken too long," the mayor said. "We have been waiting eight years before the project went out to bid."

In June 2021, the Manville Borough Council passed a resolution asking the Somerset County commissioners to lower the speed limit on Main Street, a county road (Route 533), to 25 mph.

The resolution stated that a borough traffic study found there were 644 crashes on Main Street from January 2016 to February 2021.

Onderko said he still waiting for an answer from the county.

"Sadly, there was no sense of urgency to help Manville’s Main Street by Somerset County leadership," Onderko said. "As mayor, I was unaware this project would take years to complete given the known safety issues. The Borough of Manville deserves so much better for all the county taxes we pay."

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com"

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Manville HS student-athlete killed in crash remembered as a 'great kid'