NYC intersection co-named after slain FDNY EMT

By EMS1 Staff

NEW YORK — An intersection was co-named after an FDNY EMT who was killed in the line of duty.

News 12 reported that a dedication plaque was placed on the corner of East 196th Street and Boston Road to honor FDNY EMT Yadira Arroyo, who was killed March 2017 after being run over by her own ambulance.

FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the intersection was an appropriate place to honor Arroyo, whom he lovingly called “Yari,” because she lived close by.

“Yari not only worked in this neighborhood, she lived not far from here,” Nigro said. “She had seen the residents here every day coming and going from calls, and many times she responded to care for those same people. The store owners here on Boston Road knew her, the children who walked by here every day saw a role model in Yari — someone they could aspire to be like when they grew up.”

"She was an exceptional EMT, the one that her captain would assign as a partner to new members to help them learn the right way of doing things," Nigro said.

“I want all the members of 26 to know: we grieve with you still — we stand by you,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said, according to NY Daily News.  “If there’s ever a definition of family, it’s the FDNY.”

Arroyo’s aunt, Alida Acevedo-Hernandez, recalled Arroyo’s words while watching the sign unveiling.

“It’s like she used to say — ‘Be happy for this moment in time, because this moment in time is your life.’”