Ex-FDNY Firefighter From LI Pleads Guilty In Wrong-Way Crash That Killed Teacher

BABYLON, NY — An FDNY firefighter from Babylon pleaded guilty Tuesday to drunken driving charges in a wrong-way crash on the Sunken Meadow Parkway three years ago that left a Queens teacher dead.

As Patch previously reported, Joseph Norris, now 40, was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, manslaughter, aggravated DWI, DWI, reckless driving, and reckless endangerment.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to felony aggravated vehicular homicide and second-degree manslaughter charges, as well as a misdemeanor charge of aggravated DWI.

Norris had worked at the FDNY since 2006.

On Nov. 20, 2020, he was off duty driving a 2008 Chevrolet Colorado southbound in the northbound lane of the parkway near exit SM3A in Smithtown when he struck a 2007 Mazda CX7 SUV, killing the 44-year-old driver, Anthony Mariano, of Kings Park.

Prosecutors said Norris had driven in the wrong lane for nearly 4 miles.

Norris was taken to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore with serious physical injuries, prosecutors said at the time. He lost both his legs. A chemical test of his blood after the crash revealed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.29 percent, prosecutors said. That's over three times the legal limit.

He is expected to be sentenced July 19 to five to 15 years in prison.

“This tragic event claimed the life of a beloved Suffolk County school teacher. We realize and are saddened by the fact that no sentence here can return Mr. Mariano to his family and students,” said District Attorney Tierney. “The importance of roadway safety cannot be stressed enough, especially now, as the summer months’ approach and that more vehicles are on the roadways. I urge everyone to use good judgment before you get behind the wheel, and in doing so, help keep our roads, other drivers, and pedestrians, safe.”