Joseph Zadroga, 76, a tireless advocate for the cause of 9/11 first responders, was struck by an SUV in New Jersey on Sunday and died.
He was hit in a parking lot at Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation in Pomona by 82-year-old James McNeal who was pulling his Nissan SUV into a parking space, according to a police news release. Zadroga was standing outside his parked Hyundai.
Zadroga was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital.
The freak accident killed a nationally known figure: Zadroga worked tirelessly for the cause of sick 9/11 responders.
A former chief of the North Arlington Police Department in New Jersey, he was also the father of New York Police Department Detective James Zadroga, who died at 34 of a respiratory disease. James Zadroga had been among the 9/11 first responders. In 2006 he was the first NYPD officer to die after reporting health problems linked to breathing toxic substances at Ground Zero.
After James’s death, Joseph Zadroga successfully dedicated his life to sick ground zero workers: he spearheaded the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, offering screenings and financial aid to the heroes of those days.
