A serious accident badly injured retired Firefighter Billy Esposito on March 9, 2016. Esposito, 60, a former Rescue 2 firefighter who worked many months at the World Trade Center recovery effort and contracted thyroid cancer there, was hit by an unlicensed, uninsured driver while riding his motorcycle. Esposito broke many bones, including his pelvis, and suffered life-threatening and life-changing injuries.
Because the driver who hit him was uninsured, there is no money to help the Esposito family. The driver suffered only minor injuries and is free.
“Legislation was introduced in Albany in 2013 to crack down on drivers who operate vehicles without insurance or misrepresent where their vehicles are operated by using out-of-state plates [the driver was using Tennessee plates]. The bill, introduced by state Senator Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx), would have created stiffer penalties, such as amending the current first-degree forgery law to also make it a felony for a person to submit a false application for motor vehicle registration or insurance.
The bill passed the state Senate in 2014 but stalled in the Assembly,” reported Joe Werkmeister in the Riverhead Times Review on April 7, 2016.