CBS2 Exclusive: Woman Trapped In SUV When Rocks Slide Down On Saw Mill River Parkway
CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Giant pieces of rock onto the Saw Mill River Parkway in Chappaqua this week, and the driver never saw it coming.
As CBS2's Dick Brennan reported exclusively Thursday, it happened in the southbound lanes between exits 32 and 33 around 11 p.m. Wednesday.
And while the Saw Mill River Parkway has many so-called fallen rock zones, the woman whose vehicle was struck had no idea that a wall would nearly come sliding down on her.
"I felt like a boom – like almost like an explosion – and then I felt the airbag was in my face," said Antonia Georgioudakis
Georgioudakis' sport-utility vehicle was nearly crushed under an avalanche of boulders and slabs of rock that came slamming down right in front of her.
"I felt like I couldn't breathe," she said. "I kind of looked up to catch my bearings. I saw parts of my car on the parkway, and all I could think of was: 'Please, nobody behind me hit me. Please, nobody behind me hit me."
Heavy equipment was in service all day Thursday to move the massive slide off the road. The slide happened on a dark, windy section of the expressway.
Georgioudakis said after the impact, she sat in her car terrified and stunned. It was then that a stranger out of nowhere came to comfort her
"He held my hand tight and did not let me go, until the he had to with the paramedics," she said.
That stranger was retired NYPD Officer Kevin Martin.
"I was holding her hand," Martin said. "Holding her hand, reassuring her."
Martin was driving on the parkway behind Georgioudakis at the time, and was also stunned by the slide. But he quickly made sure she was okay before calling for help.
"Instincts took over," he said. "You know, 20 years as a police officer, it just took over to do what I had to do."
"He was amazing," Georgioudakis said of Martin. "He definitely was my angel."
The New York State Department of Transportation said it is checking the area where the slide happened to see if enhancement needs to be made to make it safe. In the meantime, the department said it is advisable to check the roads every single day.