Heroes Lift Car Drunk Driver Crashed into New York Barbershop to Save Baby
Talk about being at the right place at the right time. Two police officers getting breakfast helped save a baby trapped under a car, that a drunk driver crashed into a barbershop.
A man hit a curb, a parked vehicle, two pedestrians, and accelerated into a barbershop on Friday, July 23, according to the Yonkers Police Department. "4th Precinct Officers Fusco and Samoyedny were in a nearby bagel shop getting breakfast when they heard the collision and went to investigate, finding a pedestrian down in the wreckage of the crash inside the barbershop."
The woman's infant daughter was also injured and trapped under the vehicle. "The officers with the help of bystanders heroically lifted the vehicle off of the baby so she could be rescued and given medical aid."
The mother sustained a serious femur fracture and the infant sustained a skull fracture along with 3rd-degree burns to her back and foot. Both were taken to a local trauma center and are expected to survive their injuries.
An investigation into the crash revealed the driver, 43-year-old David Poncurak, had a suspended license, was driving someone else's car, and had an alcoholic beverage inside the vehicle. He was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, vehicular assault, and aggravated unlicensed operation.
"It is always a tragedy when someone is injured by the reckless and criminal acts of another person, and that is only amplified when those injured include an infant," said Police Commissioner John Mueller. "Luckily, two veteran officers of Yonkers’ Finest just happened to be getting breakfast next door and quickly took action along with members of the community to rescue a child trapped under the vehicle and render aid to her mother. The actions taken are nothing short of heroic. The individual arrested in this incident will now have to face the consequences of his alleged behavior.”