Off-duty FDNY firefighter helps rescue 19-year-old struck, pinned under vehicle in Coney Island
CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (WABC) -- An off-duty FDNY firefighter rushed to the aid of a young woman riding an electric skateboard who was struck and pinned under a vehicle on Thursday in Brooklyn.
The victim, a 19-year-old woman, was struck by a Hyundai SUV at the intersection of Neptune Avenue and 10th Street in Coney Island just before 8:30 a.m.
Police say the 43-year-old driver was travelling southbound on West 12th Street and making a right turn onto Neptune Avenue when he struck the teen.
The 19-year-old victim was knocked off her skateboard and run over by the SUV.
Off-duty FDNY Firefighter Jose Cristales, assigned to Ladder Company 104 in Williamsburg, happened to be sleeping in his nearby home, was woken up by his sister and rushed to scene of the crash.
FDNY officials say Cristales and a group of nearby construction workers rushed to get the victim out from under the vehicle.
"My first thought was, 'ok we need to lift the car up.' From there I'm looking around and I see a good amount of bystanders," Cristales said. "So, in my head we're going to have to do a 3-2 count on my count, we're trying to lift the car together. In the midst of that, there's a bulldozer coming directly my way. So, by the grace of god it helped out the whole scenario."
They redirected the bulldozer in front of the car, and once it was lifted, Cristales immediately pulled the victim out from under the wheel.
The firefighter then administered CPR until she started breathing.
Within minutes help arrived.
"There was big commotion going on, a big crowd up there, and I noticed, at the time I didn't know it was a firefighter, Cristales, doing CPR on the patient. So I immediately ran over to him," said FDNY Lt. John Militano.
She was taken to NYU Langone, where she is in critical but stable condition.
Jaclyn Pereztello is the victim's friend and door neighbor and has known her for 10 years. She says she took school seriously, and is like an older sister to her.
"She's really nice. She hangs out with her brothers and her family," Pereztello said.
As for Cristales, his fire chief had some words of praise for him.
"He is a hero and so are they, and like he said, it feels complicated because we're so proud of them but we're also still so worried for her," FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.
The 43-year-old driver, Saddam Tufail, stayed at the scene. He was issued two desk appearance tickets for failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care, police said.
----------
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
