January 03, 2025
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Billy DiMaio, a 2022 alum of Chestnut Hill College, was one of the 14 people killed in the truck attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day.
An alum of Chestnut Hill College was killed in the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans that left 14 people dead and dozens injured.
Billy DiMaio was on Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning when a man drove a pickup truck into the crowd. DiMaio was pronounced dead later that day. The 25-year-old had studied business administration at Chestnut Hill College before moving to New York to work as an account executive for Audacy, his father told the Washington Post. DiMaio, a Holmdel, Monmouth County, native, graduated from the private Catholic school in 2022.
"We are devastated by the news of the passing of our alumnus," the college said in a statement. "Billy was a leader within our community who shined not only as a star student in the classroom but also as a top athlete, serving as a captain on our 2022 championship lacrosse team. Our prayers are with the entire DiMaio family at this tragic hour, as our entire college reflects upon the positive impact he had upon so many in our close community."
WFAN's Boomer and Gio, Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti, also paid tribute to DiMaio on their Friday morning show. Audacy hosts the sports radio program online.
"I don't know if I met him, I know he worked on a different floor, but just absolute tragedy and people who knew and worked with him said he was just an awesome kid," Giannotti said. "... When you think about a kid who's going down there to meet some friends who are going to the Sugar Bowl, partying on Bourbon Street, just living the life he wanted to live, doing things the right way, and for this to happen to him, it's just senseless and horrible."
The FBI is leading the investigation into the attack, which officials are treating as an act of terrorism. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, drove a Ford pickup truck into the crowd around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, then exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement. He was killed in the subsequent shootout.
Investigators found an ISIS flag in the truck, along with additional weapons and a possible IED. Jabbar was a U.S. citizen from Texas.
Ryan Quigley, a Montgomery County native and Princeton University football player, was injured in the attack.
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