EXCLUSIVE: FDNY EMT pulls over on L.I.E, saves commuter in distress
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, October 24, 2015, 4:00 AM
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City EMT Joseph Siciliano (r.) pulled over on the LIE Thursday and helped save a stricken motorist.
An FDNY EMT on his way to work showed up right on time for a commuter in distress.
Joseph Siciliano, 27, was headed to Station 4 in Lower Manhattan for his regular shift Thursday when an accident around 8:30 a.m. on the Long Island Expressway caught his eye.
“I was driving westbound to the city from Long Island and I saw a bystander on the service road. He looked like he was giving some guy chest compressions,” said Siciliano, who has been an emergency medical technician with the FDNY for nine years.
“I was like, ‘Oh, that does not look good.’”
He parked his car and hopped over a median to reach the Good Samaritan frantically pumping the chest of an unconscious man.
Jospeh Siciliano has been an emergency medical technician with the FDNY for nine years.
Witnesses told the EMT that it seemed like the man had suffered a seizure in his car while driving.
The vehicle had slowly rolled off the main highway onto the service road and come to rest against a tree.
Many people sprang into action to help — including the unknown man who started chest compressions, Siciliano recalled.
“When you have a situation like this — what you would call a flat-lined patient — keeping that heart pumping is the critical thing,” he said. “I was just doing all I could to keep going.”
Thanks to the many 911 calls placed by witnesses, a fire crew from Engine 305 pulled up — carrying a defibrillator.
JAMES KEIVOM/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSJoseph Siciliano, 27, was headed to Station 4 in Lower Manhattan for his regular shift Thursday when an accident caught his eye.
A firefighter was right there to hand it to him, while the crew cut off the patient’s shirt.
The first shock didn’t revive the patient — and after a second one seemed to get no response, Siciliano resumed his chest compressions.
Moments later, he and the firefighters got their first hopeful sign.
“The patient spit out the tongue suppressor,” the EMT said. “I took that to mean his gag reflex was back.”
By the time an ambulance showed up, the man, in his 40s, once again had a pulse — although he still needed help breathing.
He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, but his condition was still unknown on Friday.
“I truly hope he is going to be all right,” said Siciliano. “This is what we train for and we always hope we can make a difference.”
After the man was safely taken to Elmhurst, Siciliano had to zip to Station 4.
“I had to call ahead to let them know why I was late — I didn’t want to get docked for missing work,” he said.
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