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Babylon Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Long Island Teacher in Drunken Wrong-Way Collision

Crime

By Published: May 24 2023

LongIsland.com

Joseph Norris’ Blood Alcohol Concentration was More than Three Times the Legal Limit When He Caused the Car Crash that Claimed the Life of a Beloved Kings Park Teacher.

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Joseph Norris, 40.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Joseph Norris, 40, of Babylon, pleaded guilty to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide and other related charges, for the November 2020 car crash that claimed the life of Anthony Mariano, 44, of Kings Park.
 
“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.”
 
According to court documents and the defendant’s statements during his plea allocution, on November 20, 2020 at approximately 7:30 p.m., Norris, an off-duty New York City Firefighter, was driving his 2008 Chevy pickup truck while intoxicated. While Norris was on the Sunken Meadow Parkway, he drove southbound in the northbound lanes for approximately 3.7 miles before causing a head-on collision with a vehicle being driven by the victim, Anthony Mariano.
 
Mariano died at the scene due to the injuries he sustained in the crash. Norris was brought to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore for injuries caused by the collision, including the loss of both of his legs. Toxicology results from a sample of Norris’ blood revealed that his blood alcohol concentration was .29%, more than three times the legal limit of .08%.
 
On May 23, 2023, Norris pleaded guilty before County Court Judge, the Honorable Stephen Braslow, to the charges of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a Class B felony; Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class C felony, and Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, an Unclassified misdemeanor.
 
Norris is due back in court for sentencing on July 19, 2023. He is being represented by Anthony LaPinta, Esq.
 
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Raymond Varuolo of the Vehicular Crime Bureau.
 
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.