Off-Duty Cop and Good Samaritans Save Woman After Seeing Her Car Hit Median and Burst

When Susan Denise crashed her car on an expressway, she had no idea so many complete strangers would immediately jump to her rescue.

On Monday, Denise was driving her Jeep in Long Island, New York, when she hit the center median, causing the car to flip on its side and catch on fire.

People immediately began to help — including an off-duty police officer — flipping her car back over so they could rescue her. Some positioned their cars to stop traffic, some took out jugs of water to throw on the flames, and some worked to get Denise out of the car and away from the flames.

According to WNYW-TV, Denise was flown to a hospital in critical condition by a Suffolk County Police helicopter.

Video of the incident circulated online, drawing commendation for those who put themselves in harm’s way to save Denise from burning alive.

One woman, Laura Benedetto, identified herself as the wife of one of the good Samaritans who leaped into action that day.

“I’m beyond PROUD of my husband, Guy!!” she wrote on Facebook.

“So…YESTERDAY( an off duty day, but never truly off duty when you take that Honorable Oath to SERVE & PROTECT) … Guy, without a moments hesitation .. put his car in park & RAN across the [Long Island Expressway]..TO SAVE A LIFE!”

Benedetto said he and a few other men were the ones to flip Denise’s car over and pull her to safety. She called her husband a “literal ANGEL on Earth.”

“He is a BEAUTIFUL BELIEVER IN THE GOOD OF OTHERS,” she continued.

“Please pray with us for the Wonderful woman, I hope we get to hug one day soon.. to continue healing to live her very BEST LIFE. God Please heal her completely. All our love & prayers go out for Her & Her family.”

Benedetto said in a comment on her post that she stayed and prayed with Denise until an ambulance arrived.

According to Benedetto, the day after the crash it looked like Denise would recover, but there has been no official word on her condition.

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Amanda holds an MA in Rhetoric and TESOL from Cal Poly Pomona. After teaching composition and logic for several years, she’s strayed into writing full-time and especially enjoys animal-related topics.

As of January 2019, Amanda has written over 1,000 stories for The Western Journal but doesn’t really know how. Graduating from California State Polytechnic University with a MA in Rhetoric/Composition and TESOL, she wrote her thesis about metacognitive development and the skill transfer between reading and writing in freshman students.
She has a slew of interests that keep her busy, including trying out new recipes, enjoying nature, discussing ridiculous topics, reading, drawing, people watching, developing curriculum, and writing bios. Sometimes she has red hair, sometimes she has brown hair, sometimes she’s had teal hair.
With a book on productive communication strategies in the works, Amanda is also writing and illustrating some children’s books with her husband, Edward.

Location

Austin, Texas

Languages Spoken

English und ein bißchen Deutsch

Topics of Expertise

Faith, Animals, Cooking