WHITESTONE, N.Y. — A New York woman was critically injured in a multiple car collision involving an off-duty NYPD lieutenant.
CBS New York reported 22-year-old Samantha Maloney was driving while intoxicated when she hit a guardrail around 5 a.m. Saturday morning. Instead of calling the police, Maloney called her friend Victoria Garrett, 22, to help her.
The two women were standing on the shoulder when two motorists stopped to help, including FDNY EMT Christopher Pierce. Pierce stopped to lend assistance and pulled in front of Maloney’s disabled car, leaving his car at an angle.
“You know, it’s just training. You come in, you want to help. And it’s what you’re trained to do. Somebody needs us, it’s what you got to do,” Pierce said.
As Pierce and the two women waited for help to arrive, an off-duty NYPD lieutenant driving by was unable to swerve in time, clipped Pierce’s vehicle and sent Garrett 30 feet over the side of the roadway.
She was taken to the hospital and is in serious condition.
“I have a fracture in my arm. Doctors looked at it and they evaluated it. It’s a substantial break, it’s going to require a good amount of healing but it’s totally fixable,” Pierce said.
The NYPD lieutenant was given a breathalyzer test and was not under the influence at the time of the collision.
Maloney was arrested and has been charged with driving under the influence.