19-year-old Coney Island woman trapped in vehicle rescued by off-duty FDNY firefighter in Brooklyn

CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (WABC) — An off-duty FDNY firefighter responded to a young woman riding an electric skateboard in Brooklyn on Thursday when she was struck and pinned underneath a vehicle.

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 said the 43-year-old driver was heading south on West 12th Street and was turning right onto Neptune Avenue when he struck the teen.

The 19-year-old victim was pushed 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 asleep at his nearby home. He was awakened by his sister and rushed to the scene.

According to FDNY officials, Cristales and a group of nearby construction workers rushed to pull the victim from beneath the vehicle.

“My first thought was, ‘Okay, we have to lift the car.’ From there, I look around and I see quite a few bystanders,” Cristales said. “So in my head, we have to do a 3-2 count on my count, we try to lift the car together. Meanwhile, there’s a bulldozer coming right at me. So, by the grace of God, it helped the whole scenario.”

They drove the bulldozer in front of the car and once it was lifted, Cristales immediately pulled the victim out from under the steering wheel.

The firefighter then performed CPR until she started breathing again.

Within minutes, help arrived.

“There was a big commotion going on, a big crowd there, and I saw, at the time I didn’t know it was a firefighter, Cristales, performing CPR on the patient. So I immediately ran 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 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 words of praise for him.

“He’s a hero, as is she, and like he said, it feels complicated because we’re so proud of them, but we also still have deep concerns about her,” said FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.

The 43-year-old driver, Saddam Tufail, remained at the scene. He was issued two tickets for failing to yield right of way to a pedestrian and for failing to exercise due caution, police said.

———-

* More news from Brooklyn

* Send us a news tip

* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts

* Follow us on YouTube

Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News

Do you have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If you add a video or photo, the Terms of Use apply.