Westchester County Officer Hit By Car While Rescuing Boy On Saw Mill River Parkway
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Westchester County police officer was struck by a car on the Saw Mill River Parkway Friday, but was able to get a teenager out of harm's way before he would have been struck.
Officer Paul DeSousa was struck just before 10 a.m. on the shoulder of the parkway just north of McLean Avenue in Yonkers, Westchester County police said in a news release.
DeSousa was in squad car as he saw the 15-year-old boy walking north along the shoulder on the southbound side of the parkway, and he pulled over in fear that the boy would be hit by a car, police said.
DeSousa was getting ready to give the boy a ride back to local streets, when an out-of-control 2014 Infinity struck an embankment and then began plowing toward them, police said.
DeSousa grabbed the boy and hoisted him onto the hood of his squad car, police said. DeSousa himself was then struck, and sent flying into the air, police said.
Several motorists who saw the incident rushed in to help DeSousa, and he also radioed for help, police said. He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, and was treated and released for multiple non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino who went to the scene of the incident and later spoke with DeSousa, police said.
"Today's incident is a reminder that police work is dangerous in many different ways," Astorino said. "I want to commend Officer DeSousa for the decisive action he took to protect the safety of this young man. I am grateful that the officer was not more seriously hurt."
DeSousa, 27, served in Iraq and Afghanistan before joining the Westchester County Department of Public Safety a year ago, police said.
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