Long Island man drives car off dock into Patchogue Bay before quick-thinking first responders save his life
PATCHOGUE, N.Y. -- Quick-thinking first responders saved a Long Island man's life after he drove his car off a dock and plunged into Patchogue Bay.
Nestor Riosarvealo, 33, is recovering after his 2017 Nissan plunged into the water off Mascot Dock on South Ocean Avenue in Patchogue on Thursday morning.
"The man was in such a panic. He was banging on all windows, all doors, popped the trunk at one point," said News 12 reporter Carolyn Flynn, who was part of a crew that captured the drama on video.
The News 12 crew called 911.
"This man was scared, I heard him praying in the car. That was hard to hear," said Flynn. "I was trying to scream at the person in the car, 'We called 911. Help is on the way. Stay calm. We hear the sirens.'"
It happened at around 5 a.m.
Suffolk County Police said Officer Edward Pitre and Peter Feehan from the Patchogue Fire Department arrived at the dock within minutes.
"I knew I had precious seconds. I didn't really have too much time to think, but I decided to get into the water," said Pitre.
"I saw Officer Pitre was in the water attempting to break the window. Once one of our trucks arrived, I took a tool, it's called a Halligan, and I slam out with the tool and was able to break the back window behind driver," said Feehan.
"As soon as they pulled him out, the car sank," said photojournalist Susan Caron. "He seemed disheveled. He seemed in a state of shock, was kind of like not believing what was going on. They helped him out. Actually, as he was coming up, his clothes were like coming off of him because it was so heavy from the water."
"I don't care to be called a hero. It's just what I chose to do," said Pitre.
"To me it's a much overused term. I did what I'm trained to do," said Feehan.
"This is a great story of partnership between the firefighter, between one of our officers from Suffolk County Police Department saving a life," said Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
Police were looking into what caused Riosarvealo, who was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital, to drive into the water.
Last year, a woman was also rescued after driving her car off the same dock.