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A firefighter was seriously injured after being crushed while trying to rescue the occupants of a vehicle involved in a two-car crash on the corner of W42nd Street and 11th Avenue this afternoon.
The two cars collided at the junction in Hell’s Kitchen just before 3:30pm on Sunday. One of the cars, a black BMW SUV, ended up perched at an angle on top of the other vehicle. When FDNY firefighters arrived at the scene, they attempted to stabilize the BMW and rescue its occupants.
The BMW rolled over onto its side, crushing one of the firefighters. Bystanders rushed to help lift the car to release the firefighter. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he is said to be in a serious but stable condition.
“As members from Rescue 1 tried to brace and stabilize the car on top and remove the occupants inside, the driver of one of the vehicles hit the gas and caused a car to fall and pin firefighter Ryan Warnock below,” Acting Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said in a statement to the New York Post. “Firefighter Warnock was unpinned and taken to Bellevue where he is in serious but stable condition, being treated for injuries to his leg.”
Warnock was also on the scene during last week’s the fatal Hudson River boat capsizing, where the W43rd Street Rescue 1 firefighter pulled victims from the water by the overturned vessel.
“As one of the firefighters was pulling out a passenger, the car just tipped over on top of the firefighters leg,” Ben Arias told Eyewitness News. “Even with a broken leg, the firefighter was able to pull the driver out of the car.”
W42ST readers sent pictures from the scene showing the incident beneath the swimming pools at Lifetime Fitness at SKY.
Once more a tragedy involving two cars
Probably speeding which is the cause of
Most accidents in New York , i keep saying it as long an enforced speed limit
and cops giving tickets to the guilty parties nothing will change , i drove in many capitals around the world , New York is the scariest one, also New York drivers have to learn about civility , totally lacking … a lot can be done bus the DOT has to have an agressive plan
I hope the firefighter will be okay. These streets are just too dangerous. No good reason for such an accident to happen. Speed limit should probably be lowered and certainly should be enforced.
Wait, the driver has an MD plate!?
Sooo…. was the BMW driver having a seizure, impaired, panicked? Why did they accelerate???
BMW’s are like hemorrhoids……..eventually every asshole gets one.
As the driver of the white Volvo I can clarify what happened. I was stopped at a red light. The BMW traveling at an excessive speed lost control and rode up the side of my car. The driver of the BMW has a long history of traffic violations. Speed cameras generate revenue but are worthless in preventing accidents. Repeated offenders should have their driving privileges revoked. MD plates included.