The elite firefighters of Rescue 1 were forced to tend to two of their own after a taxi slammed into their rig on the Upper West Side.
Eyewitness News has learned the horrific accident occurred shortly after the Rescue 1 rig double-parked along Columbus Avenue near West 71st Street as its crew picked up dinner about 10:30 p.m. The impact threw one of the firefighters to the sidewalk and jammed the other between the cab and the fire truck, seriously injuring both men.
The 37-year-old pinned firefighter was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was in critical condition early this morning. His 41-year-old colleague suffered two crushed legs and was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell.
The 55-year-old cab driver and his passenger were transported to St. Luke's Hospital for minor facial injuries.
Apparently, the two injured firefighters bought a mozzarella burger and a cheeseburger at Big Nick's Too, then crossed the street to climb into their truck while some of their colleagues were picking up meals at nearby Harry's Burritos.
The yellow cab, traveling south on Columbus, drove straight into the fire truck without braking, as though the driver didn't see the vehicle.
"He was standing at the rear of the truck, and the cab hit him straight on," said Rachel Sokol, 26, a Web site editor, of the firefighter who was pinned. "It was scary. Oh, my God, so scary."
The other firefighters, who are specially trained to handle the most difficult rescues, poured out of the truck and nearby restaurants, desperate to aid their injured colleagues, witnesses said.
Witnesses were haunted by the sound of the pinned firefighter. "He said, 'Oh, God, Oh, God,' then he just started to wail. It was a low wail," said Lourdes Quinones, a nurse who was walking her dog nearby.
"Both of them were in here just before the crash," said Reaz Bhyiyan, 49, of Queens, a short-order cook at Big Nick's. "They come in three, four times a week. They're real nice guys. I just don't know what to think."
A colleague said the two victims were both veteran members of the FDNY with more than 15 years on the job. Both had responded to the Sept. 11 attacks, he said. Rescue 5 from Staten Island came to cover for Rescue 1 after the crash. The Police Department's accident investigation unit was on the scene.
Investigators say the cab may have pulled out to pass a larger vehicle and run straight into the fire truck. The cabbie has a clean driving record.
"There was the crash. There was a firefighter pinned. He was wailing. I had to plug my ears because I've never heard such suffering," said Jamie Maslyn, 36, a landscape architect.
At Rescue 1's firehouse at 530 W. 43rd St., grim-faced firefighters began to trickle back hours later. Asked how they were holding up, one replied, "Not good."
Copyright 2006 WABC-TV.
Republished with permission of WABC-TV
Related Story: Two FDNY Rescue 1 Firefighters Injured after Truck Rear-Ended by Taxi.
