A fundraiser with music
and raffles will be held tomorrow for a firefighter paralyzed last year in a
motorcycle accident.
Nicholas Lorusso, 22, of
Huntington Station, who had aspired to become a police officer, will never
walk again after a Thanksgiving Day crash in East Northport damaged his spinal
cord. He was honored last year as the Melville Volunteer Fire Department's
firefighter of the year. Before the accident, Lorusso installed safety systems
to "baby-proof" homes, said his aunt Barbara Hanfling, of Melville. He is now
recovering at the Stony Brook home of his father, Robert Lorusso.
Hanfling said her nephew plans to visit schools to promote fire prevention and
work with wounded veterans.
The fundraiser will be from 3 to 8 p.m. at Mulcahy's Pub, 3232 Railroad Ave.,
Wantagh. Organizers are asking for a donation of $35 per person, $25 for those
under 18. The event is sponsored by the Testaverde Fund for Spinal Cord
Injury. Donations may be made to the Testaverde Foundation/Nick Fund, 42
Threepence Dr.,
Melville, N.Y. 11747.
Fundraiser to help paralyzed firefighter