By Andrew Strickler
Newsday
OYSTER BAY, N.Y. — Trapped inside his burning sport utility vehicle, John Collymore pleaded with a New York City firefighter who came upon the wreck unexpectedly yesterday morning on the Northern State Parkway.
"Please get me out of here! I don't want to burn alive in here!" Collymore yelled through the window, according to Edward Bohan, as the off-duty firefighter tried to open the locked door.
Working without tools or safety equipment, Bohan managed to break a window and drag Collymore from the wrecked Land Rover just before flames engulfed the vehicle, State Police said.
Collymore, 58, a married father who lives in Oyster Bay, had broken bones and was seriously burned, while Bohan suffered cuts and less serious burns in the rescue. Without Bohan's help, "my dad more than likely would be dead," said Collymore's daughter, Bianca.
The rescue unfolded before 5 a.m. yesterday as Bohan, of Bayside, rounded an eastbound curve on the Northern State Parkway near Shelter Rock Road on his way to visit a friend on Long Island.
"I was almost next to it when I saw the car," he said, describing Collymore's wrecked SUV, which had seconds earlier clipped a light pole and smashed into a tree. "I just saw the car fully involved in flames, flames all inside, flames under the hood."
Bohan pulled over and ran to the side of the vehicle as another driver called 911. As Collymore struggled and called for help, Bohan tried to open the locked door and then swung his elbow at the unyielding driver's side window.
Without an ax or other tool at hand, Bohan spotted the next best thing: a metal mile marker stuck in the ground nearby. The six-year FDNY veteran pulled the metal rod from the ground and swung it "like a sledgehammer" against the driver's side window, smashing the glass.
Bohan unlocked and opened the door. As flames whipped around the vehicle's interior, Bohan reached inside to unlock and unwrap Collymore from his tangled seat belt. Bohan then dragged Collymore about 30 feet from the SUV, leaving behind a trail of burning embers.
Outside Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow yesterday, Bianca Collymore said her father was returning from a long night painting in one of three Brooklyn buildings he owns when he fell asleep at the wheel.
He has scattered memories of the crash and its aftermath, Bianca said, and only remembers seeing people trying to reach him in the smoke-filled vehicle.
Collymore suffered burns across 29 percent of his body, primarily on the right side of his face and his right arm. He also has a fractured elbow and hip. He underwent a lengthy surgery yesterday at NUMC, where he was listed in stable condition and is expected to survive.
Bohan, 31, who is assigned to Engine 44 on Manhattan's Upper East Side, was treated at a hospital for cuts he got from the broken glass and burns to one hand.
He described his injuries as relatively minor but said it was unclear how soon he would be able to return to work. "I have been in fires before but I wasn't dressed like that," he said. "Normally, I'd have had gloves and a bunker jacket, and I wouldn't have been hurt."
When asked if she had anything to say to Bohan, Bianca Collymore smiled. "A thank you, and a hug would be in there somewhere. Words can't say how truly grateful we are."
Copyright 2008 Newsday
