An off-duty firefighter is being praised as a hero on Wednesday after he saved the life of a woman whose car stalled on the Long Island Rail Road.
Volunteer firefighter Pete DiPinto Sr. was getting ready for bed around 10.30pm Tuesday evening when he heard what sounded like a car crash outside his Brookhaven home.
According to CBS New York, Janice Esposito’s vehicle had been struck by another car as she was turning on the Arthur Avenue crossing near Bellport, sending her toward the tracks.
Volunteer firefighter Pete DiPinto Sr. (L) saved Janice Esposito after she became momentarily incapacitated from a car accident just seconds before train arrives
The impact of the collusion had left Esposito shaken and confused.
‘I had no idea I was on the train tracks or that a train was even coming,’ she told CBS New York.
South Country Ambulance Chief of Greg Miglino (pictured) called DiPinto a ‘hero’
Stuck between her deployed airbag and driver’s seat, and still reeling from the impact of the collusion, Esposito struggled to get herself free.
That’s when DiPinto came to her aide, prying open her car door and pushing away the airbag.
‘You’re on the tracks — we gotta get you off now,’ DiPinto recalled telling Esposito.
DiPinto was luckily able to drag Esposito across the passenger seat and pull her to safety.
Around 10 seconds later, according to CBS New York, a train came barreling through, slamming directly into her car.
‘It was an explosion, literally,’ said DiPinto. ‘It was an explosion of twisted metal, smoke.’
Janice Esposito said the impact had stunned and confused her, leaving her unable to get free due to her airbag being deployed
The two managed to hide behind a metal utility shed, avoiding shrapnel raining down from the vehicular impact.
‘Last night, the hero arrived in pajamas, not in a fire truck,’ said South Country Ambulance Chief of Dept. Greg Miglino.
‘I can never repay him for this,’ Esposito told CBS News. ‘I have a family. He saved my life.’
The train conductor and the driver who initially struck Esposito’s car were reportedly uninjured in the event.