Police: Woman Critically Injured Following Accident Involving Off-Duty NYPD Lieutenant, EMT
WHITESTONE, Queens (CBSNewYork)-- A 22-year-old woman was critically injured Saturday morning following a multiple-car collision that involved an off-duty NYPD lieutenant and an off-duty EMT, police said.
"From the moment I got here, she's been in my prayers , been in my thoughts," FDNY emergency medical technician Christopher Pierce told CBS2's Brian Conybeare.
Police sources told CBS2 that 22-year-old Samantha Maloney was driving under the influence around 5 a.m. when she hit a guardrail on Whitestone Expressway in Queens.
Instead of calling police, Maloney called her 22-year-old friend, Victoria Garrett, to come help her. Garrett arrived and the two women were on the shoulder when two other motorists stopped to help them, including Pierce.
"You know, it's just training. You come in, you want to help. And it's what you're trained to do. Somebody needs us, it's what you got to do," he said.
An off-duty NYPD lieutenant driving on the highway was unable to swerve and hit the back of the car belonging to Garrett, launching her 30 feet over the side of the elevated roadway, police said. The NYPD lieutenant was given a breathalyzer and was not intoxicated.
Garrett was taken to the hospital and is in serious condition, sources told CBS2. The other individuals on the scene walked away with smaller injuries.
"I have a fracture in my arm. Doctors looked at it and they evaluated it. It's substantial break, it's going to require a good amount of healing but it's totally fixable," Pierce said. He told CBS2 he did not want to talk about the awful moment Garrett was thrown over the concrete barrier.
Maloney has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence.