Love for a fallen neighbor

Life was good for Richard Forenza in November. He had a new job, a girlfriend, and, at age 40, he was in his best physical shape in years.

That all changed in an instant.

In the midst of his usual overnight truck route from Massachusetts to Kings Park on Nov. 5, at about 4:45 a.m., police said an SUV cut in front of Forenza's tractor trailer in the eastbound lanes of the Long Island Expressway in the Syosset area. Forenza lost control, and his truck turned over on the passenger's side and erupted in flames.

To the astonishment of witnesses, Forenza managed to climb out through the driver's window. Engulfed in flames, he dashed across the highway, rolled in the grass and, with the help of witnesses, was able to extinguish the fire.

Police told his family that in the ambulance en route to the Nassau University Medical Center Firefighters Burn Center, Forenza was conscious and alert. He answered questions about the accident coherently and provided EMTs with a phone number for his parents, Rich and Sally.

Forenza, a lifetime Salisbury resident, had suffered second- and third-degree burns on about 85 percent of his body, friends and family said, and he was treated around the clock at the NUMC Burn Center. But despite staffers’ extensive efforts — including hours of skin grafting — Forenza died four days later, on Nov. 9.

When his friends and family members heard how he had escaped the inferno and was alert on the way to the hospital, they were not shocked. "I'm not really surprised," said his brother, Christopher. "He always had a cool head in certain situations and knew what he had to do."

Childhood friend Greg Young offered his take. "It was probably just pure adrenaline," he said.

Hundreds are expected to attend a fundraiser in Forenza’s honor on Jan. 30 at Mulcahy's in Wantagh. The event, being organized by Young and another friend, Joe Martin, has already drawn an outpouring of support from businesses and individuals from the Salisbury and East Meadow communities.

"It's a complete surprise," said Kelly Forenza, Rich's sister. "I knew he had friends, but I never knew it was like this."

Then again, "He would talk to anybody," Kelly said.

Rich, lovingly know to his siblings as "Bubba," would engage several people in conversation as he walked up to the stores along Carman Avenue to grab a cup of coffee and a Lotto scratch-off. "Rich had a bubbly personality," Young said. "He was a happy, jovial individual and would always make you laugh, whether he cracked the joke or laughed at something."

Young said that Forenza would be the first person to help an elderly lady with shopping bags or hold the door open for someone. When a friend suffered serious injuries, Forenza visited him every day for months, his siblings recalled. "He definitely had a huge heart," Christopher Forenza said.