by Cris Italia
Suffolk County Patrol Officer Peter Knudsen was on a routine patrol on Tuesday, April 9, when he noticed an unusual amount of traffic on the service road of the Long Island Expressway near the Commack Road exit, just a little after midnight. Knudsen raced up ahead and noticed a jacked-knifed tractor trailer. As he arrived at the scene, the driver of the Coca-Cola trailer explained how he tried to avoid the driver of a 1994 Mazda who was headed the wrong way without lights.
She was driving the wrong way onto the service road going southbound and did not have her head-lights on, Knudsen said. His first reaction, of course, was to check on the woman who was unconscious in her vehicle.
I approached her car and she was not responsive, and then I noticed that the front her car was beginning to shoot flames, Knudsen recalled. Quickly he returned to his patrol car to get his extinguisher. I tried to put out the fire, but it wasn't working, so I knew right away I had to take the woman out of the car.
Fitzpatrick, 26, was still unconscious and unaware that she was in danger. By now the flames had quickly it made their way closer to the engine. Fitzpatrick seemed to be stuck under the dashboard, her legs out of view.
I simply then just opened the door, and although it only opened up about eight inches it was enough to pry it open and try to get her out, Knudsen said. At this point, Louis Andriotti of the U.S. DEA's office had joined the officer's effort to save Fitzpatrick's life. The car door was pried open and Knudsen noticed that the flames had reached the windshield of the car.
We just had to get her out of there and we did, Knudsen said. He had dragged Fitzpatrick about ten feet away from the vehicle when he finally felt her pulse, but knew they now he had to make sure he pushed not only Fitzpatrick, but himself and innocent bystanders back in case the car would explode.
As the two men and a bystander carried Fitzpatrick about 30 feet away, Knudsen heard the flames engulf the entire car, and the tires blown off.
Fitzpatrick was taken to Stonybrook University Hospital, where she remains in critical and guarded condition as of Monday, April 15. Her parents had contacted Knudsen to thank him for saving their daughter's life. Unfortunately she is not in the best condition, but I knew I had to get her out of there before the situation became worse, Knudsen said.
Knudsen says that from the time he arrived at the scene to the point after he pulled Fitzpatrick away from danger couldn't have been much more than two minutes. This is what we do, said Knudsen who has been a Suffolk County Highway officer for 21 years.
Fitzpatrick's family could not be reached for comment.
