A Summit police who died in a crash was widely known in Summit and his home town of Somerville.
SUMMIT -- He was the father of two with a third child on the way, a dedicated police officer who ran the community D.A.R.E. program and a respected, trusted colleague and friend.
Summit police Officer Matthew Tarentino, who was one of two people killed in a crash on Route 78 Tuesday morning, is being mourned by a wide spectrum of leaders and residents from two communities.
Tributes poured in for Tarentino, who grew up in Somerville and was a five-year veteran of the Summit Police Department.
"We are in mourning," said Msgr. Seamus Brennan of Immaculate Conception Church in Somerville.
"The parish is very, very saddened by the tragic death of an outstanding young man and father. He was a very, very fine young man," said Brennan, who has known Tarentino and his family for 15 years.
Tarentino and his wife, Victoria, are the parents of two children, and she is expecting their third child.
Summit Schools Superintendent June Chang said the Tarentino, who was the Summit police D.A.R.E. officer, was known to students and staff members.
"This came as a shock and is a great loss to the whole community," Chang said. "He was well respected and a friend to the staff and the administration and the students. He will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family."
Fifth-grade Summit students were scheduled to attend a D.A.R.E. graduation Tuesday night at the middle school. The ceremony was canceled after the crash.
"All the kids here knew him," Summit Mayor Nora Radest said. "His devotion to his job and his community was unmatched," she said.
Summit police Chief Robert Weck call Tarentino "the face of the police department" for his work in community policing.
"Matthew Tarentino epitomized what a law enforcement officer should be: a respected, trusted colleague with unshakeable dedication and enthusiasm for his calling," Weck said in a statement.
Officials said Tarentino was driving to work in Summit traveling east on Route 78 when a car traveling west on the highway crossed the grass median at mile marker 33 and collided with Tarentino's car and third car. Tarentino was killed and the other two drivers were taken Morristown Medical Center. One of those drivers later died, State Police said.
No other details about the crash have been released.
Tarentino, 29, grew up in Somerville, attended Immaculate Conception School and graduate from Immaculata High School in 2006.
His wife, Victoria, is also from Somerville and attended the same school and high school, graduating a year earlier, in 2006, according to their classmate, Jeff Fell, who graduated from the high school in 2007. Tarentino's brother graduated from the school in 2008.
Victoria Tarentino is currently marketing director for the high school.
"There are a lot of people mostly in shock. There are no words to describe," Fell said. "Matt Tarentino truly was just a caring and loving individual. He was so ingrained in the ICS."
Brennan said Tarentino was the current president of the Immaculate Conception School Advisory Council.
"We lost one of the good ones today," said Thomas Gambino, Immaculata High School director of athletics, who knew Tarentino when he was student.
"He really was someone who lived the Gospel. He was a role model," Gambino said. "Not a shock that he went into law enforcement. He wanted to help people," he said.
He recalled that Tarentino ran track and played tennis at the school, but was also in the school choir. "Tough day to be a Spartan," Gambino said.
After high school, Tarentino attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Rutgers University, majoring in communications with a minor in Spanish.
He played tennis in college and briefly pursed a career in the sport, playing in tournaments and working with a company that placed tennis pros in teaching positions at clubs.
Many of Tarentino's relatives from his mother's family had been in law enforcement, including his maternal grandfather, who was a trooper with the State Police.
During an interview with local-access television program produced for Summit residents, Tarentino said he saw law enforcement as a way to help others. After graduating from the Somerset County Police Academy, he first worked for the Bound Brook Police Department, and then the Rutgers Police Department, before joining the Summit force in 2012.
He served two years in the patrol division before being assigned to community policing. In addition to being the D.A.R.E. officer, he worked on other outreach programs, including the national night out program.
President Colligan- Please pray for Officer Tarentino's family,friends, Summit Police. He impacted so many lives and will be greatly missed pic.twitter.com/hdh6ehQXHx
-- New Jersey State PBA (@NJSPBA) May 30, 2017
Matt was one of the kindest men I ever known. I am heartbroken at this news & pray for his wife, Vickie, his kids, & family. RIP. https://t.co/YeHM2TKq2J
-- Jeff Fell (@JerseyJeff14) May 30, 2017
Always looked up to Matt at school. Was a man of Christ and a real class act. My heart breaks for his family today. Life's so precious. https://t.co/8IWzC0pRkZ
-- prosh[?] [?] (@Gregggyboy) May 30, 2017
Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.