On December 21, 1981, 32-year-old New Jersey State Trooper Philip Joseph Lamonaco was on patrol along Interstate 80 in Knowlton Township when a traffic stop ended in violence. During the stop he was shot nine times; despite being critically wounded he returned fire and wounded one of his attackers. A passing motorist found his empty cruiser and discovered Lamonaco lying face down in the snow. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.

Investigators linked the crime to two suspects identified as Thomas William Manning and Richard Charles Williams, members of a group called the United Freedom Front, whose activities included bombings and bank robberies. A bullet-riddled getaway car was recovered miles from the scene with bloodstains and fingerprints that helped point investigators to those suspects. Lamonaco left behind his wife and three children, and one of his children later became a New Jersey State Trooper.

Are there readers who remember the case or who have information about that day on Interstate 80?