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Mostly Cloudy and Breezy A Liberty Medal for local lifesavers
On any given day, the streets of Glen Cove are calm and quiet. Often, children can be seen riding bikes, friends walking home from school together and neighbors engaged in conversation to catch up with one another while walking their dogs.
But in September 2019, the peace and quiet was shattered by screams of a woman desperately fighting for her life.
Glen Cove’s Manny Grella and Christian Floro were recently honored with the Liberty Medal for saving that woman’s life. Officials said the awards are long overdue.
Floro, a former city resident, was in his house when he heard a loud noise that shook the corner of Elm Avenue and Rellim Drive on Sept. 17. When he looked out the window, he witnessed the surreal sight of a Mercedes Benz crashing through a fence driving right into a backyard pool.
His 73-year-old neighbor was behind the wheel.
The accident also occurred right around the corner from Grella, a Glen Cove Department of Public Works employee. Before the accident, Grella said his son asked him to stay home an extra 15 minutes before leaving the house so they could eat together. Grella chose to stay home the additional 15 minutes before leaving to run errands.
Moments after he started driving down his street, Grella heard those shattering screams.
“At that moment, I didn’t know what was going on.” Grella said. “It was screams of death, crying for help.”
Before he approached the accident, Grella called the police.
Both Grella and Floro dove into the pool. The car was partially submerged in the water at that point. Grella recognized the elderly woman as one of his neighbors and spoke to her in Italian during the rescue so she could better understand his directions and to calm her down. He directed her to get out from the front seat and climb towards the back door since the front of the car was submerging quickly.
As they pulled the woman out of the wreckage and put her on the pool’s ledge, police and EMS arrived.
“The minute we got her out, the car was totally submerged.”
Glen Cove Police Detective Lt. John Nagle said that the woman had gotten into a car accident at the street intersection and continued to accelerate, driving through a bush and fence on Rellim Drive.
Her foot stayed on the accelerator as the car veered left into Elm Avenue, where she eventually crashed through a fence and into the pool.
Nagle said that the woman had been stuck in the car as it sank into the pool and thanked both Floro and Grella for their quick action. The woman was taken to Glen Cove Hospital and had no life threatening injuries.
“I was just at the right place at the right time and it was a team effort.” Grella said.
Floro received his recognition in 2020, but councilwoman Danielle Fugazy Scagliola said the award was heavily delayed for Grella because of the coronavirus pandemic. The award was spearheaded by State Senator James Gaughran, but last week, Grella finally received recognition during the last City Council meeting of 2022.
Councilwoman Marsha Silverman noted the Liberty Medal is the highest honor for any civilian to be awarded in New York state. “It’s not awarded lightly,” Silverman said. “It’s awarded when somebody goes above and beyond outside the normal course of duty, to do something incredible for our community, such as save somebody’s life.”
The New York State Senate Liberty Medal is awarded to individuals who have merited special commendation for exceptional, heroic, or humanitarian acts on behalf of their fellow New Yorkers. The award remains the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the State Senate.
The resolution for the medal reads, “Had it not been for Manny Grella’s courage and determination, this perilous situation could have been much worse; he took action without regard for his own safety.” The resolution further stated that Grella aptly demonstrates his character and compassion for the safety and welfare of others.
“Some people just look the other way when things go wrong,” Fugazy Scagliola said. “I think I speak for all of us when we say we appreciate the person you are. We see it every day in the work that you do.”
Fugazy Scagliola said that given Grella’s character, his actions during the accident didn’t surprise her.
Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck stated that Grella saves the city every day. “You are probably one of the city’s most dependable, reliable, important employees,” Panzenbeck said. “We could not run our city without someone like you at the helm.”
Both Grella and Floro were presented with a certificate of recognition from Panzenbeck as well for their bravery, but Floro was not in attendance during the City Council meeting to receive his certificate.
