The train that struck and killed Dover [NJ] police officer Arthur Ohlsen III Tuesday night did not honk its horn, and Ohlsen was so busy directing firefighters on his radio that he did not hear its quiet approach, authorities said yesterday. Ohlsen, an 18-year veteran of the department, was standing near the tracks shortly before 9 p.m. using his shoulder-mounted microphone to tell firefighters how to reach a brush fire beneath the South Salem Street overpass. Ohlsen was standing on the berm near the tracks holding a flashlight to show firefighters where to park their truck and how to snake a hose down to the blaze when he was hit, Valentine said. The officer was flown by helicopter to Morristown Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:45pm. The mood was solemn yesterday at the 37-member department. It was the department’s first death in the line of duty since 1938. Off duty, Ohlsen belonged to the pit crew for a Dover-based NASCAR racing team, traveled to New Hampshire and South Carolina for races, and stenciled the computer-generated graphics for police cruisers’ Sept. 11 memorials, officer Anthony Smith said. Ohlsen, a native of Dover, is survived by his wife Bonnie, his sons A.J., 16, and Trevor, 14, among other relatives. Out of respect for the mourners, the town rescheduled its reorganization meeting from today to Monday at 7 p.m. The viewing will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. tomorrow at Tuttle Funeral Home at 272 Route 10 in Randolph. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Sacred Heart Church in Dover. Interment will follow at Locust Hill Cemetery. Memorial contributions for the education of Ohlsen’s two sons can be made to the Arthur Ohlsen Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 1002, Dover, N.J. 07801.(more at the Star-Ledger )(1-1-2004)
