A New York City firefighter had his leg crushed by an SUV just days after he and other firefighters saved the lives of a group of Colombian tourists in a heroic rescue on the Hudson River.
This incident occurred in Midtown Manhattan on Sunday afternoon. FDNY’s Rescue 1 was responding to a two car collision that resulted in one car resting on top of another.
Video of the incident shows the firefighter attempting to stabilize the car on top, a black BMW, the driver of one of the car hit the gas and cause it to fall and pin firefighter Ryan Warnock below.
In a statement, FDNY acting commissioner Laura Kavanagh said: ‘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.’
It’s unclear what caused the initial crash.
Just last Tuesday, Warnock was among the heroes who rescued a group of Colombian tourists after their boat capsized on the Hudson River
FDNY’s Rescue 1 was responding to a two car collision that resulted in one car resting on top of another
Video of the incident shows the firefighter attempting to stabilize the car on top, a black BMW, when it shifted in to drive and began moving forward
It’s unclear what caused the initial crash. The driver of the Volvo told DailyMail.com: ‘My wife and I were stopped at the light and all of a sudden we felt this impact’
A witness, Ben Arias, said: ‘As one of the firefighters was pulling out one of the passengers, one of the passengers barely got out until the car just tipped over on top of the firefighters leg
Firefighter Ryan Warnock was taken to Bellevue Hospital in serious but stable condition. He is being treated for a broken femur
The driver of the car underneath the BMW, Matthew Wahn, told DailyMail.com: ‘My wife and I were stopped at the light and all of a sudden we felt this impact and we saw a car drive up on the side of our vehicle.’
In a separate interview with the New York Post, Wahn said that the driver of the BMW was still in the car when Warnock’s leg was crushed.
Wahn went on to tell CBS New York: ‘It’s absolutely crazy because there was no one behind us at the time. We were the only two cars between the two lights.’
Meanwhile a witness, Ben Arias, told ABC New York: ‘As one of the firefighters was pulling out one of the passengers, one of the passengers barely got out until the car just tipped over on top of the firefighters leg.’
Arias told CBS New York that as Warnock was being helped out of the car, he continued trying to rescue the people inside.
The driver of the Volvo, Matthew Wahn, described the crash saying: ‘It’s absolutely crazy because there was no one behind us at the time’
The unnamed driver of the BMW pictured in the aftermath of the crash, no other injuries were reported as a result of the incident
In a separate interview with the New York Post, Matthew Wahn said that the driver of the BMW was still in the car when Warnock’s leg was crushed
Firefighter Ryan Warnock pictured during a separate rescue in April 2022
He said: ‘You could tell that when they pulled him out, he was definitely in pain, just grabbing his leg, he was in pain, but everyone clapped him, cheered him on when he was on the way to the ambulance because he’s a true hero. That’s a real New York hero right there.’
Warnock was taken to Bellevue Hospital in serious but stable condition. He is being treated for a broken femur, reports NBC New York.
No other injuries were reported as a result of the crash.
Kavanagh added in her statement: ‘Every day, members of our great Department put their lives on the line to protect the residents of our great city. We are grateful for the quick response of our members, whose fast reactions helped remove firefighter Warnock quickly and ensured he got the medical attention he needed.’
Lindelia Vasquez, 47, and Julian Vasquez, 7, from Colombia, died in capsizing on the Hudson River on Tuesday. The pair’s exact familial relationship was not made clear, but the NYPD noted that they were not mother and son
Just last Tuesday, Warnock was among the heroes who rescued a group of Colombian tourists after their boat capsized on the Hudson River. There were 13 people on board the boat when the incident happened.
A seven-year-old boy, Julian Vasquez, and a 47-year-old woman, Lindelia Vasquez, drowned in the accident.
Warnock later told the media that he pulled the seven-year-old from under the boat. He said: ‘The individual that I found, the small one that I found, was wearing a life vest. Obviously, any time it’s a child, it changes maybe your emotional state, but you just have a job to do and you do it.’
Officials believe that it’s likely the boat was overloaded causing it to capsize.
Warnock is a third generation firefighter.
