Yadira Arroyo: FDNY Medic Killed By Her Own Ambulance In Fatal Carjacking
FDNY media Yadira Arroyo was run over and killed by her own ambulance last night. A Hispanic man stole her ambulance and ran over the mother-of-five while her EMT partner tried to attack the carjacker and stop him.
The FDNY medic was killed about 7 p.m. while on duty in the Bronx, the Daily Mail reports. Yadira Arroyo, 44, and her female partner were flagged to a stop by people on the street trying to alert them to a man riding on the back bumper of the ambulance.
The squad was in the midst of responding to an emergency call for help from a pregnant woman at the time the fatal carjacking occurred. When Arroyo, a 14-year veteran of the FDNY, pulled over and stopped, Jose Gonzalez reportedly tried to grab a bag being carried by one of the bystanders.
#FDNY mourns the loss of FDNY EMT Yadira Arroyo, Station 26, who was killed in the line of duty tonight while serving our city. pic.twitter.com/b3KrzGabYE
— FDNY (@FDNY) March 17, 2017
Arroyo tried to stop Gonzalez from stealing the bag, but he overpowered her during the struggle. He dove inside the ambulance and fought the FDNY medic’s partner, Monique Williams, 31, for control of the wheel.
Horrific cellphone video footage from the fatal attack clearly shows the carjacker throwing the ambulance in reverse and driving right into Yadira Arroyo. She is shown struggling to keep the door of the ambulance open but just didn’t have enough strength to hold on. The medic ultimately fell to the ground and was left for dead in the middle of the road.
Gonzalez then reportedly frantically drove straight into a parked car before being arrested. MTA K-9 Officer Danny McCabe just happened to be walking along the same street where the tragic fatal carjacking occurred. The officer and several members of the public subdued Gonzalez.
Arroyo’s distraught fellow medic screamed, “My partner, my partner,” before charging at the handcuffed carjacker and allegedly trying to kick him in the head. Police officers who arrived on the scene quickly, sympathetically restrained Williams and helped to calm her down after the shocking fatal carjacking.
Mere moments before Gonzalez attacked the FDNY medic, he had been going door-to-door throughout the neighborhood begging, Pix 11 reports.
UPDATE: The EMT killed by a stolen ambulance has been identified as Yadira Arroyo, a mom of five https://t.co/yBydziNrda
— New York Post (@nypost) March 17, 2017
The FDNY medic was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center where she was almost immediately pronounced dead. Williams was treated for minor injuries sustained during her struggle with the carjacker and released.
Anis Nagi told the New York Daily News he was the one who flagged down the ambulance to let them know someone had jumped onto the back of the rig. Nagi said Arroyo got out of the vehicle to check on the situation and left the door of the vehicle open.
“He reversed so hard and she was dragged. He ran over her and she went under the wheels,” Nagi added.
Jose Gonzalez has an extensive criminal record. Some witnesses said he was basically incoherent and talking to himself at the scene.
“They were acting very brave,” FDNY Chief Daniel Nigro said when praising the actions of both medics. “They certainly wanted to continue on their way to that call. The person had no business being in this ambulance. No matter how many times we do this, it doesn’t make it any easier.”
Yadira is the eighth FDNY paramedic to die in the line of duty. Three of the EMTs killed in the line of duty were women.
[Featured Image By Roman Tiraspolsky/Shutterstock]
