Carly Q. Romalino and Jim Walsh

Courier-Post

A family friend described the Franklin Township boy struck and killed by a police cruiser on Delsea Drive Sunday as the "sweetest little thing."

Matthew McCloskey, 10, was hit around 7 p.m. by a police vehicle driven by Officer Nicholas Locilento, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office.

Officials say the boy was struck as Locilento drove north on Delsea Drive near Elmer Street, where his family lives.

Gloucester County Chief of Detectives John Porter said investigators could not comment on whether the cruiser's lights and siren were on.

Matthew, who was walking with other boys to a sleepover, was pronounced dead at the scene just after 7:30 p.m.

On Monday, a family friend who answered the door at the McCloskeys' home described Matthew - the youngest of Michelle McCloskey's children - as the "sweetest little thing."

The family was not prepared to make a statement, according to the friend, who declined to give her name.

Matthew, a fifth-grader at Caroline L. Reutter School in Franklinville, "was a great kid," according to Franklin Township Public Schools Superintendent Troy Walton.

"Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family," he said Monday. "The entire community is going to be touched by this. Your heart bleeds for the family."

The district will provide counseling to Reutter students before classes are back in session next week, Walton said.

Counseling sessions are set for 9 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Principal Ted Peters.

"Even though (students) might not have known him, knowing he's not in school may affect them," Walton explained.

Matthew was a very respectful "overall good kid" with "excellent character," Peters noted while walking the hallways of Franklin's fifth- and sixth-grade school.

Near classroom No. 12 - Matthew's homeroom - a math-class project with his name on it was pinned to the wall. Before the holiday break, his class learned how to calculate the volume of cubes, Peters explained.

The principal, a volunteer firefighter in Buena, heard about the crash Sunday night. His worst fear was confirmed when Franklin Township police called to tell him about Matthew.

"I was hoping I didn't get a call," Peters said.

At about 12:30 p.m. Monday, the police cruiser involved in the accident -- no. 1106 in Franklin's fleet -- was moved from the parking lot of the Delsea Drive police station to the township's public-works yard on Broad Street.

The car's chrome grille hung perpendicular to the front bumper. The yellow New Jersey license plate was bent under the vehicle, and the car's hood was rippled from the passenger-side headlights to the windshield wipers.

Just after 7 p.m. Sunday, Lappy Parhar, who owns Liquor Mart & Deli across the street from the accident scene, noticed lights and sirens outside.

"(Responders) were doing chest compressions on somebody," recalled Parhar, who has young daughters. "I could hear somebody crying over there."

Bystanders looked to be in shock, he said.

In a statement released late Sunday night, Franklin Township officials said "our thoughts and prayers go out to the McCloskey family that tragically lost their son. Whenever a young life is lost like this it is tragic for everyone, his family and our community.

While this is very difficult for the young boy's family it is also very difficult for that police officer involved," the statement added. "It is our understanding that the officer was responding to an urgent call when this accident happened and we support the officer who was involved in this. He is very shaken up by being involved in this incident and we are supporting him in this difficult time."

The statement also noted the prosecutor's office investigates all fatal accidents in Gloucester County. The county medical examiner's office was to perform an autopsy as part of its investigation.

County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton extended condolences to the McCloskey family for what he said was a "heartbreaking loss, made more acute at this time of year."

Reach Carly Q. Romalino at (856) 486-2476 and cromalino@courierpostonline.com. Follow @CarlyQRomalino on Twitter.