Baby Home From Hospital, Heroes Honored In Emotional Ceremony

YONKERS, NY — A police honor guard, a proclamation from the mayor and emotional words from a father who was able to take his daughter home from the hospital paid tribute to the officers and bystanders who are being credited with helping to save a life.

There was some reason to celebrate on Wednesday, weeks after the disturbing crash that played out on July 23. Jorge Palacios told the crowd gathered at Yonkers City Hall that his infant daughter, who suffered a skull fracture and required skin grafts for severe burns, is home from the hospital.

"Thank you for being there to save my baby and my family," breaking down in tears and speaking in Spanish, Palacios told those being honored. "God bless you."

Although 8-month-old Leslie Palacios is now recovering at home, her mother, Myrna Palacios is still hospitalized with a broken femur and is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

The Yonkers Police Department released security video that appears to show a car driven by David Poncurak hitting a parked car, before striking the mom and baby in the street and accelerating, dragging them through a storefront before the car finally comes to a stop inside a barber shop on Lake Avenue.

Poncurak was placed under arrest and charged with DWI, vehicular assault and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle.

The story might have had much less of a happy ending if two Yonkers police officers, Paul Samoyedny and Rocco Fusco had not happened to be eating breakfast at a nearby bagel shop and witnessed the tragic events unfold.

Body cam footage shows the cops rushing over to the scene and with the help of bystanders and the injured shop owner, lifting the car and quickly freeing the mother and child from the wreckage. The police were able to provide critical first aid until EMTs arrived a short time later.

“These brave individuals, really they just jumped into action and they came to the aid of the mother and this beautiful 8-month baby," Mayor Mike Spano said. "They were brave, they were courageous, they were selfless, just some of the words that many people, including myself, have described the men who made some split-second decisions to save, literally, to save the lives of Myrna and 8-month Leslie."

Spano added he was proud of the Yonkers Police Department that "seems to shine, no matter what is out there, no matter what is going on in society." Police Commissioner John Mueller, meanwhile, touted the heroic response to the crash as highlighting the importance of police and the community working together in partnership.

“I think what this gathering here today is not so much a recognition of the officers or recognition of the civilians but it’s really a recognition and acknowledgement of the collaborative effort that they did together," Mueller said. "It’s just really a celebration and it’s an acknowledgement of the work that police and community do together."

SEE ALSO:

• Car Crashes Into Store, 8-Month-Old Suffers Skull Fracture
• Update: Driver Who Drove Into Store, Injuring Infant, Arrested