A New York City Fire Department emergency medical technician was killed and a second was injured after a man stole their ambulance and struck them in the Bronx on Thursday, authorities said.
“We lost a good woman,” Mayor Bill de Blasio, addressing reporters at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, said of the 44 year-old EMT who was fatally struck.
The second EMT, also a woman, suffered minor injuries, de Blaso said.
FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the two EMTs were responding to a call in the Soundview section of the Bronx when a passing motorist alerted them to a man riding on the back of the ambulance.
Nigro said the EMTs stopped the ambulance and went to investigate.
The suspect managed to slip into the driver’s side and put the ambulance in reverse, injuring one EMT. He then ran over the second EMT, Nigro said.
A Metropolitan Transportation Authority K-9 officer who happened to be passing by intervened, along with several good Samaritans. The suspect, a 25-year-old male, is in custody.
“A lot of heroism was on display today amidst a real tragedy,” the mayor said.
De Blasio said the victim is a 14-year FDNY veteran and the mother of five children.
Authorities are not releasing the victim’s name pending notification of family members.