ICU Nurses Rush To Aid Of Marine Struck By Hit-And-Run Driver
MONTAUK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A U.S. Marine was hospitalized on Long Island after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver.
The Marine -- who was home on leave -- was out for an afternoon jog when he was hit.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, some quick-thinking off duty nurses rushed to his rescue.
The Good Samaritan Hospital critical care nurses can take credit for administering critical care just outside the hospital, acting as true good Samaritans while off duty on Wednesday night.
"It sounded like a loud crash, and I wasn't sure if the person was breathing or not," ICU nurse, Laura Schmerge said.
Schmerge was playing tennis when she heard a car veer onto the shoulder of Montauk Highway, strike a jogger, then speed off.
Nurse Kathleen Cleary was driving several cars behind the crash.
"I jumped out of the car and ran over and knelt down and said nobody touch him," she said.
Together, they safely turned Nathan Valle to clear an airway. The 30-year-old Marine suffered a fractured shoulder blade and head injuries.
Home on Long Island between deployments, he was jogging eastbound. His father said he doesn't remember being hit.
"He was running with traffic so he didn't see the car approaching him. It's ironic that he's in the military and this is what happens when he's on leave, when you think you're fine," Oscar Valle said.
No one at his bedside at Good Samaritan Hospital can fathom how the driver who hit him left the scene.
"I couldn't imagine anyone leaving my child on the side of the road so it was immediate instinct," Cleary said.
"Too many people are being hit by cars, and people don't have the decency to stop and assist," Valle said.
Suffolk Police said witnesses described a blue, four door Ford focus.
They're asking anyone who has additional information to come forward and help find the driver who left a U.S. Marine in a fight he never trained for.
Corporal Valle was home from a two year tour in Japan. His family is hopeful he will make a full recovery.
