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Westchester County Police Officers Niall Nerney and Christopher Duffy are being nominated for a lifesaving award for pulling a fleeing 51-year-old suspect out of his burning car after he crashed on the Saw Mill River Parkway in Chappaqua, the department announced on Monday, Dec. 18.
The events leading up to the crash began on Friday, Dec. 1 around 9:30 p.m., when a Chevrolet Malibu driving north on the Saw Mill River Parkway in Hawthorne sideswiped another car. The Chevy did not stop afterward and continued north while the other car's driver called authorities and gave them a description of the Malibu, according to police.
Nerney and Duffy then began waiting in their patrol car on Grant Street in Pleasantville for the Malibu to pass. Once they saw it, they tried pulling it over near Route 120 in New Castle but the Malibu instead sped up to flee, authorities said.
Eventually, the Malibu's driver lost control of the vehicle on wet pavement around a mile south of Readers Digest Road in Chappaqua and crashed into another car before rolling over and ending up off the parkway.
As a result of the crash, the suspect was flung into the back seat and knocked unconscious as the car went up in flames. Upon seeing the crash scene, Nerney and Duffy immediately pulled over and used a portable fire extinguisher to slow the blaze. They then broke through the damaged windshield to climb inside the car and pull the man out as flames were spreading to the passenger compartment.
The dramatic rescue was depicted in body camera footage released by Westchester County Police.
After the suspect was pulled out, he was taken to Westchester Medical Center by the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Nerney was also hospitalized for smoke inhalation and cuts on his hands.
Additionally, the occupants of the other vehicle that was involved in the Chappaqua crash, a 33-year-old woman and a 7-year-old child, were taken to the hospital for evaluation and released.
Police later found a loaded handgun in the suspect's car, according to the department.
Westchester Department of Public Safety Commissioner Terrance Raynor praised Nerney and Duffy for their successful rescue.
"This suspect fled at high speed on a rainy night, putting himself, other motorists and these officers in jeopardy. Regardless of this man’s reckless behavior, Officers Nerney and Duffy did not hesitate to put themselves in harm’s way to save him as the flames spread," Raynor said.
"I commend them for the decisive, skillful, and courageous actions they took when every second mattered," he continued.
The suspect, a 51-year-old man whose name was not released, was later charged with:
- Second-degree criminal possession of a weapon;
- Second-degree criminal contempt, as he was barred from possessing a firearm by a pre-existing order of protection;
- Fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle;
- Reckless driving.
The suspect was also issued summonses for speeding and leaving the scene of the first collision in Hawthorne, police said.
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