Head-On Crash Kills N.J. Detective

Aug. 2, 2011
Ocean County Detective Tina Rambo's Ford Crown Victoria collided with an oncoming car around 8 a.m. in Southampton as she was driving to work.

A head-on crash in Burlington County Monday morning took the life of an Ocean County detective as she headed to work, state police said.

Tina Rambo, 35 and a married mother of two, served in the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office for about 10 years, said state police spokesman Capt. Frank Davis. Her work-issued 2000 Ford Crown Victoria collided with a 2004 silver Saturn Ion about 8 a.m. on Route 70 in Southampton.

Rambo was driving eastbound on the roadway when Marlton resident Rachel Portnoy, who was traveling westbound, crossed into the oncoming eastbound lane, authorities said.

Rambo died at the scene. Portnoy, 24, was flown to Cooper University Hospital in Camden with serious leg injuries.

Rambo and Portnoy were wearing seatbelts.

No charges have been issued and the accident remains under investigation.

The highway remained closed until about 12:45 p.m., Davis said.

Rambo had been recently assigned to the grand jury and trial unit, but had worked in various units in the prosecutor's office, including the narcotics task force, the special victims and Megan's Law units and the domestic violence unit, authorities said.

A 1994 graduate of Toms River North High School, Rambo graduated from Ocean County College in 1996 and earned a bachelor's degree from Rowan University in 1997.

She graduated from the Ocean County Police Academy on May 24, 2000. That year, she joined the prosecutor's office as a prosecutor's agent. On July 30, 2001, she was sworn in as a law enforcement officer, the prosecutor's office said.

Three years later, she earned a master's degree in arts from Seton Hall University in human resources training and development.

In addition to her career in law enforcement, Rambo was once a substitute teacher in the Toms River Regional School District.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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