A Little Egg Harbor Township man died Saturday, after he was pinned under an SUV by a man trying to park, police said.
Joseph C. Zadroga, 76, was outside his parked vehicle in the parking lot of the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center's Mainland Campus in Galloway Township, where he was visiting his wife around 2 p.m. Saturday, BreakingAC has confirmed.
James McNeal, 82, of Absecon, was pulling into a parking space when he accelerated, struck Zadroga's vehicle and then struck Zadroga, pinning him under McNeal's SUV, according to the investigation.
Life-saving measures were performed at the scene, and then Zadroga was taken into the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Zadroga, a retired North Arlington, Bergen County, police chief, known for his fight on behalf of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act, which provides health monitoring and aid to the first responders, volunteers and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The bill is named for his son, who was a New York police officer who died of a respiratory disease that has been attributed to his rescue efforts at Ground Zero.
Comedian Jon Stewart famously testified on behalf of the act, and even returned as a guest to his former "The Daily Show" to talk about the fight to renew the 2010 act.
The crash that killed Joseph Zadroga is under investigation by Sgt. First Class Kevin Welsh and Officer Kaitlyn Reyes of the Galloway Township Police Department Traffic Safety Unit.
