Obituaries
Uprooted Tree In Vernon Kills Beloved UPS Driver, Mother Of Three
Matty Auer's truck was hit with a tree while working this past Saturday in a neighborhood that's remembering her smile and friendliness.
VERNON, NJ — A UPS driver who lived in Hackettstown is being remembered in Vernon for her smile and friendly nature, after she was killed this past Saturday when a tree uprooted and fell on her truck as she was making deliveries in one of the Vernon neighborhoods that she regularly served.
The Vernon Township Police Department temporarily shut down Sleepy Holly Road, in what was originally reported as a "motor vehicle crash," after receiving the call about the incident at 12:20 p.m.
The UPS driver, who has since been identified as Matty Auer, 49, became trapped in her truck under the fallen tree as she was driving by it, with first responders and a local tree service company working diligently to free her.
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After crews were able to get Auer out of her truck, she was medevaced to Morristown Medical Center where Vernon Police say she later died from her injuries.
In addition to the Vernon Police Department, Pochuck Valley Fire Department, McAfee Fire Department, Vernon Township Fire Department, Highland Lakes Fire Department, Vernon Township Ambulance Squad, Glenwood Pochuck Ambulance Squad, and St. Claire’s Paramedics assisted at the scene.
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According to her obituary, Auer was based out of the UPS facility in Budd Lake and is the mother of three children, Emily, Christopher and Michael Auer.
“She was around our neighborhood a lot, always a beautiful smile on her face,” Kristin Van Hook, one Vernon resident wrote on one of the police department’s Facebook posts. “My prayers go out to her family and friends. And God bless everyone involved. A truly sad day.”
A GoFundMe fundraiser set up on Sunday for medical and funeral expenses has raised close to $28,000 as of Tuesday.
Auer’s obituary asks that donations be made in her memory to Father John’s Animal House in Lafayette and Hackettstown’s Tri-County Volunteer Fire Company.
A visitation for Auer has been scheduled on Thursday from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at Cochran Funeral Home on 905 High Street in Hackettstown. A funeral mass is planned for Friday at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of the Mountain Roman Catholic Church at 2 East Springtown Road in Long Valley, with her burial to follow at Hackettstown Union Cemetery.
Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at jennifer.miller@patch.com
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