LI Good Samaritan Who Saved Baby In Stolen SUV 'Would Do It Again'

GREENPORT, NY — Bill Gorga of East Marion was out shopping for Valentine's Day Monday when, in just over three minutes, he saved a baby who was stolen in an SUV — in an act of heroism that's left a forever mark on the community and in the child's life.

Gorga, who said he calls himself a good Samaritan, not a hero, was out in Greenport Monday afternoon, picking up Valentine's Day surprises for his wife Stephanie. "I was going to go to the IGA to pick up a couple of things, and then go to the stores on Front Street," he said. His to-do list included a trip to the post office, the liquor store for the champagne his wife loves, "maybe a stop at the Blue Duck Bakery to get something sweet for Valentine's," he said.

But in a twist of fate that literally placed him in the life-altering right place at the right time, Gorga decided not to go to IGA first and instead, pulled up in his truck on Front Street in front of the stores.

"The car in front of me was running," he said. "I could hear it but I couldn't see inside."

A grandmother and Gorga, the heroic good Samaritan, gave chase after her SUV was stolen by a Holtsville man in Greenport with her sleeping 14-month-old grandchild inside, police said.

On Valentine's Day, just after 2 p.m. the woman stopped on Front Street in Greenport with her grandchild secured in a child safety seat in the rear of her Mercedes-Benz SUV and entered a store briefly, leaving the child in the vehicle, Southold Town police said.

While she was in the store, the woman saw her SUV being driven away and heading west with her grandchild still secured in the vehicle, police said.

Gorga took the grandmother into his vehicle and chased the SUV westbound on Route 25 in Greenport; he was caught the SUV near Moores Lane and cut it off on the shoulder, police said.

The grandmother, meanwhile, jumped out of his car, raced to her SUV and got inside the vehicle to save the baby, police said. The SUV continued driving west with the grandmother and the child both in the SUV, police said.

Gorga continued to pursue the Mercedes SUV westbound on Rt. 25 and got the thief to stop near Silvermere Road, where the thief released the grandmother and child from the stolen vehicle and then continued westbound, police said.

While Gorga was calling 911, an officer in a sector car saw the grandmother, child and Gorga standing on the shoulder of Rt. 25 in Greenport and shared information about the vehicle and a description of the driver to other sector cars, police said.

Within minutes, the Southold sector car operator saw the Mercedes SUV speeding westbound near Town Harbor Lane in Southold and attempted to catch up, police said. The man driving the stolen Mercedes sped through Southold Village, passing other vehicles and disregarding traffic signals until he struck a guardrail, drove up onto the Southold American Legion property, and then came to rest along Rt. 25, police said.

Responding officers quickly apprehended him without a struggle and transported him to police headquarters for processing, police said.

Paul G. Ludeman, 55, of Holtsville, was arrested and charged with third-degree grand larceny, a felony; aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child in the car, a violation of Leandra's Law, a felony; acting in a manner injurious to a child, a misdemeanor; unauthorized use of a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, a misdemeanor; felony DWI; third-degree fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor; use of a vehicle without an interlock device, a misdemeanor; reckless driving, a misdemeanor, and multiple traffic violations, police said.

Describing the experience, Gorga said as he pulled into the spot, he was waiting for the SUV ahead of him to pull up. "I'm lazy, I wanted to get closer," he joked.

Then, everything changed in a heartbeat when Gorga said he saw a woman screaming ."I thought someone had gotten run over by a car! What could she be screaming about?" Gorga said. "She screamed, 'Someone stole my car with the baby in it!'"

The grandmother had her SUV keys in her hand, Gorga said.

"I opened the door to my truck and said, "Get in. We're going to get the baby!'"

Gorga said as he chased the car west toward Southold, he knew he had to catch up. He was laying on the horn "to let other people know we've got a crazy guy driving a car and another crazy guy trying to catch him with a truck," he said.

Right about where Riverhead Building Supply is located on Main Road, Gorga said he was able to pass the Mercedes. "Thank God, there were no other cars," he said. "I was still blowing the horn. I was able to get ahead of the vehicle and make him slow down until the Mercedes stopped across from Riverhead Building Supply," he said. "I had the windows down, and we were yelling at the guy. She was screaming, 'I want the baby! I want the baby!' And I'm telling the guy, 'Don't move! Don't go anywhere!'"

The grandmother jumped out of his truck, Gorga said. "She was lightning quick," he said. "The guy was saying, 'Take the baby! I don't want the baby! Take the baby!'" he said.

The grandmother got out of his Ford pickup and got into her Mercedes, in the rear passenger seat near the baby, Gorga said.

"I'm thinking that it was better for me to be blocking the car, and the next thing the SUV goes around me. I didn't see him turn the wheel because I was looking at her. Now, I look outside and she's not there. I thought, 'Oh, my God, what the hell did I just do?' I made this worse. Now he's got two people. I wanted to cry."

His phone was in his jacket pocket and, with things evolving at rapid-fire speed, there was no time for Gorga to pull out the phone, unlock the screen, and dial 911. "Do you know how fast this was happening? So then I had to chase the car again."

Someone has asked how fast he was going, Gorga said. "I had no idea how fast, I just had my foot all the way down on the floor," he said.

Gorga managed to catch up to the SUV again, about 500 feet before St. Peter's Lutheran Church on Main Road. "I swung in front of him again, to make this guy stop the car. I had to be careful because I didn't want her to get back out and then, he could back up in reverse and run the lady over."

The grandmother got out of the vehicle, he said. "She had the baby in her arms," he said.

Ludeman then took off again and ultimately crashed, Gorga said. "But he didn't touch my car," he said. "At one point, you could have put a sheet of paper between my right front fender and her left front fender, but at that point, both cars didn't have a scratch on them," he said.

Gorga then called 911 and then, saw a patrol car out his driver's side rearview mirror. He put the phone down, jumped out, slowed down the patrol car and told him, "See that car? He just hijacked the lady and baby."

That officer radioed ahead and soon, a fleet of Southold police cars were waiting for Ludeman when he crashed, Gorga said. As he drove to Southold police headquarters to make a statement, Gorga said he saw the SUV outside the American Legion, "all banged up" after the turn, he said.

Despite his heroic feat, Gorga was plagued by what-ifs. "Maybe I should have pinned that guy again," he said. "He was driving through Southold Town and he was flying. If someone had been run over because I let him go, I'd be seeing a psychiatrist right now," he said.

Some have said he should have used his flashing lights, made a citizen's arrest, he said. "I couldn't even think about all of that," he said.

Although that save felt as though it took 40 minutes to an hour, the reality was that the entire experience lasted just over three minutes.

He called his friend Debbie, who owns the liquor shop in Greenport, and she told him she had surveillance footage. From the time he pulled up on Front Street at 1:59 p.m. to the time he called 911, it was 2:03 p.m., just over three minutes — three minutes that saved a child's life.

The reason he felt the experience had lasted longer, Gorga said, was because he felt his world slow down, as if it were all unfolding in slow motion, allowing him the time to make decisions that were safe, and that would not make a "bad situation worse."

When asked if Gorga thought about the possibility of the thief having a weapon, he said: "He did have a weapon and it weighed three tons. It didn’t even cross my mind to think if he had a gun, a knife, a laser or a taser."

Gorga, who worked as a marine engineer, said he had previously worked in the department of emergency management at a New York City company.

"They teach you if you see something, say something. Everyone has been taught that, and it's a good lesson," he said.

As for the grandmother, she was hysterical throughout the ordeal, he said. It was only when she saw him at police headquarters about an hour later that she'd regained some composure, Gorga said. "She told me, 'Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it.' And I told her, 'Don't worry about it,'" he said.

The baby, Gorga said, "woke up clueless" to what had happened. "He was totally unphased."

While at the police station, Gorga called his wife. "I said, 'Hey, Stephanie, you're not going to believe what just happened,'" he said.

Gorga said he'd already bought the steak and lobster tails for his Valentine's Day dinner with his wife. He called his wife he told her he'd be home soon. "She asked if I wanted her to pick up the champagne. I told her, 'That's supposed to be a surprise.'"

Their friend at the liquor store didn't charge them for the bubbly.

Gorga, who was born in Marine Park, lived in Whitestone and Staten Island and has three kids; he recalled memories of Boy Scouts, Pinewood Derbies, soccer practices.

When asked if the same situation arose, he'd do it all again, Gorga didn't hesitate. "Yes, I would do it again. Why wouldn't I?"

As a father, Gorga said he can't understand why he sees stories on television about people on a subway or elsewhere who see a crime happening and take out their phones, doing nothing to help. "You could have helped capture that person," he said.

Reflecting on his amazing rescue, Gorga said, "I guess it's a day in the life of Bill Gorga. I went to the store, and on the way to the store, something different happened." He added: "A detective told me I was a hero. I told the detective, 'No, you’re a hero. You and men and women that work in the building, you do this 24/7, 365 for over 20 years that’s a hero.' I just did something."

Stephanie, meanwhile, says she's filled with pride over her husband's bravery. " It is an amazing story. He is always my hero," she said. "I am beyond proud of my Bill."

She added: "Bill will tell you he’s not a hero, that he did what he needed to do. We are a family here and watch out for one another. It was a blessing he happened to be there."

For Stephanie, the what-ifs are harrowing. "I love him dearly and when all was done, I thanked God this criminal did not have a weapon. And especially on Valentine's Day. I broke down when I knew it was over, but never let him see me cry."

The couple, married 20 years last Aug. 11, share a beautiful love story. "It’s not always perfect but we’re damn close," she said. "He’s my Prince Charming."

And, she added, when the rescue was over, her husband said he wished his late dad, mom, and Mama Dee had been there, "to see what I did," she said. "I told him they were — that's why you're safe."

Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley also commended Gorga and his officers. "I think that we were very fortunate that everyone was safe at the conclusion of this incident — the 14-month-old, the grandmother, the good Samaritan, our officers and the suspect. If this had turned into a pursuit, it could have ended a lot differently," he said. "We were able to apprehend the car thief so quickly because the officer that came upon the grandmother, child and good Samaritan acted quickly, gathering information and a description of the vehicle and suspect and broadcasted it on our police radio. The suspect only made it about 3 to 4 miles before he was intercepted. The fact that the monument turn onto Rt. 25 is such a sharp curve, and the thief’s not being familiar with it, definitely contributed him crashing and ending his ride," he said.

He added: "After watching his driving on the in-car video that the pursuing patrol car was recording, we are very fortunate that he did not hit another vehicle or a pedestrian through Southold Village. He drove through a red light, passed a few vehicles on a double yellow line — all at a high rate of speed."

Flatley told his officers that they did an excellent handling this incident. "From the first officer who came upon the grandmother and hood Samaritan to the officer that safely arrested the suspect."