Cop, Off-Duty Firefighter Save Woman From Burning SUV On LIE

A Suffolk Police officer and an off-duty firefighter saved a woman from a burning SUV following a crash on the Long Island Expressway Wednesday morning, police said.

According to police, 23-year-old Melissa Ortiz was driving a Ford Expedition in the left lane of the eastbound LIE when her SUV collided with a National Grid vehicle, driven by Frederick Foote, near Exit 60 in Ronkonkoma at about 10:50 a.m.

The Expedition overturned and became engulfed in flames. Highway Patrol Officer Thomas Mutarelli and passing motorist Jeffrey Dupoux, a volunteer firefighter with the Elmont Fire Department, pulled Ortiz from the vehicle, police said.

Ortiz, of Medford, and Foote, 36, of Yaphank, were both transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

“These two men are truly guardian angels who were at the right place, at the right time,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini said of Mutarelli and Dupoux. “This is truly an act of bravery and professionalism.”

Photo by Mike Landrigan