Officers Save Boy With Seat Belt Wrapped Around His Neck On Verrazano Bridge
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two police officers are being hailed as heroes for coming to the rescue of an 8-year-old boy who was strangling on his seatbelt on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Officer Edward Grimm was called to the lower level of the span around 7 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a disabled vehicle.
Grimm called for assistance after he heard a woman, later identified as Krystyna Pendorak, in the vehicle screaming for help.
Grimm and Officer Lee Simons got to the vehicle and saw little Arthur Tyminsky with the seat belt wrapped around his neck about eight times, CBS 2's Steve Langford reported.
Grimm said the mother's left knee became stuck between the arm rest and the front passenger seat as she tried to climb into the back to save her son.
"The boy was turning blue, he wasn't speaking," Grimm told 1010 WINS. "We tried to put our fingers in between the seat belt and his neck, but there was no room for us to put our fingers there."
Simons then located a folding knife and cut the boy free.
"He let out a big breath of air," Simons said. "Thankfully he was breathing on his own and responsive."
"Thanks for God police come on time," Pendorak added.
The boy was treated at the scene.
"We were definitely in the right place at the right time," Simons said of the rescue. "I'm thankful how it ended, that the child was able to breathe on his own and walk away from there smiling."
It is unclear how the boy became entangled in the belt.
Arthur's mother said she hopes to see the officers who saved her son's life so she can thank them again.
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