By Jeff Lipton
The accident took place on Tuesday, April 26, at 4 p.m., when the victim, identified as Carl Wess of Saddle Ridge Road in Woodmere, was walking from the LIRR station on Franklin Avenue, according to Fourth Squad detectives.
Wess was leaving the train station and walking away from the train platform when a 2003 Toyota sedan driven by Barbara Siskin, 73, of Norman Way in Woodmere, was apparently backing out of a parking spot, officials said. Siskin apparently lost control of her car and pinned Wess against the train platform, police said.
Members of the nearby Hewlett Fire Department rushed to the scene and saw the man trapped by the car. "He got pinned between the car, the [pedestrian] ramp and underneath the cement platform," said Otto Kohlmier, the department's first deputy chief. "He never lost consciousness. He was talking to us and he was very calm, a real gentleman."
Fourth Precinct police and Hewlett firefighters helped free Wess from the wreckage, officials said, adding that fire officials stabilized him and were careful not to move him too hastily, since he was bleeding. They used a tool to free him from the platform, authorities said.
After being trapped for about 15 minutes, Wess was worked free, loaded into an ambulance and taken to the Woodmere Middle School grounds on Peninsula Boulevard in Hewlett, where a police helicopter was summoned to transport him to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. He was listed in stable condition with a fractured right leg and right arm, police said.
"Within 25 minutes from the actual accident, he was in the air in the helicopter and on his way to Nassau University Medical Center," said Kohlmier. "He's 79 years old. When he left us at the scene, he was in pretty good shape.
"Every move that we made worked out well," Kohlmier added. "Everyone came together to help him out. It went very smoothly. Hopefully, he didn't suffer too many injuries."
The Toyota was impounded for brake and safety checks, police said. There were no summonses issued, and no charges filed against the driver, according to police.
Contacted at her home, the driver said she did not want to comment on the incident. The victim's family could not be reached for comment.
"There's so much traffic in the area that these things just happen," said Joe Gelb, president of the Hewlett Business Association, whose law office is located down the block from the scene of the accident.
He said that recent traffic upgrades have greatly improved traffic flow on Broadway in Hewlett and surrounding areas.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
