A voice that rang out for justice on behalf of the fallen first responders who worked Ground Zero in New York City after the 9/11 attack has been stilled.
Joseph Zadroga, 76, whose son James was a police officer who worked at the wreckage of the World Trade Center, was killed Saturday in a freak accident in a southern New Jersey parking lot, according to the New York Post.
Zadroga’s advocacy helped create the James Zadroga Act that provided funds to families of first responders who were struck down by diseases linked to their work at the site.
Joseph Zadroga, dad of late 9/11 first responder James Zadroga, dies in freak parking lot accident https://t.co/d0YQ3H0EAq pic.twitter.com/g5F0R2d72X
— New York Post (@nypost) January 14, 2024
Police said Zadroga had just visited his wife at the Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation in Atlantic County when the accident took place.
According to a Facebook post from the Galloway Township Police Department, Zadroga was hit by a driver who was trying to park.
“James McNeal 82 of Absecon, was operating a 2021 Grey Nissan SUV and pulling into a parking space,” the post stated. “While pulling into the parking space, the Nissan stuck Joseph C. Zadroga 76 of Little Egg Harbor, who was standing just outside of his parked vehicle, a 2015 Red Hyundai Tucson. As McNeal was pulling into his parking space, he accelerated, struck the Hyundai, and then struck Zadroga who was subsequently pinned underneath the Nissan.”
James Zadroga, Joseph’s son, died in 2006 of a respiratory illness linked to his work at the wreckage of the World Trade Center, the Post reported. Through his father’s advocacy, the bill supporting families of first responders has been reauthorized through 2090.
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“Joseph Zadroga was indispensable to the struggle to get 9/11 responders and survivors the help they needed and deserved from Washington. For years, he personally gave voice to his son James and the others still dealing with the impact of toxins from Ground Zero,” said Benjamin Chevat, executive director of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, according to the Post.
In 2021, Joseph Zadroga spoke to the leftist podcast Democracy Now about his fight on behalf of his NYPD son, saying his son “was actually sick as soon as he got home.”
He said that the NYPD “treated him terrible. The department refused to admit that he was sick. And they just persecuted him, and they wouldn’t give up. Really, they wanted him to quit.”
Sad to hear of the passing of Ret Chief Joseph Zadroga of the @NorthArlingtonPolice Dept in NJ, who was struck by a car & killed last night. Father of the late NYPD Det James Zadroga, he spearheaded the #ZadrogaAct for 9/11 victims & families. Tremendous legacy. #nypd @rsanypd pic.twitter.com/2YPEXbF4yR
— Sergeants Benevolent Association (@sbanypd) January 14, 2024
In the interview, he recalled his son’s descent toward death.
“And he was on oxygen. I mean, to sit and watch as your child, who was a healthy 30-year-old man, deteriorate down to sitting on oxygen 24/7. His wife passed away from the stress of watching him die,” Zadroga said.
“Jimmy died January 6th, 2006. Found him up in his bedroom with his little daughter sleeping on the bed. He got up during the night to get her a bottle, and I found him on the floor with the bottle in his hand, the baby sleeping,” he said.
He said that the Ocean County Medical Examiner said his son died from working at the 9/11 site due to particles in his lungs, a claim the city disputed at the time.
PBA President Patrick Hendry on the passing of Joseph Zadroga, father of 9/11 hero Det. James Zadroga and champion for all 9/11 responders. pic.twitter.com/ZpSQnZ2JPS
— NYC PBA (@NYCPBA) January 14, 2024
He related an incident that took place after his son’s death.
“So, when we went to the Medical Examiner’s Office, I brought a picture of Jimmy. I said, ‘Listen, we’re not talking about an object here. We’re talking about my son. And I want you to look at that picture when you talk about him.’
“He turned around and said, ‘Listen, I want you, your family, to drop that saying that he died from 9/11. If you don’t drop that he died from 9/11, I will go to the press and I will say that James used his drugs illegally and he died from misusing his drugs,’” Zadroga said in the interview.
