Steve Lieberman

slieberm@lohud.com

NYS police senior investigator John Vescio pulls 69-year-old man from fiery car

Driver suffered medical issue while driving and car crashed into gas pumps off parkway

After pulling the driver to safety with help from another bystander%2C Vescio told people to move away%2C knowing that there was ammunition and a weapon in his heavily damaged unmarked car.

%22The way I look at it I was doing the right thing%2C%22 Jihn Vescio said. %22I would not have wanted the man to burn up in the car.%22

John Vescio's training and experience took over.

Vescio, a senior state police investigator, had been pumping gasoline into his unmarked police car at 11 a.m. June 3 at the gas station along the Hutchinson River Parkway in White Plains when a Toyota came barreling out of control into the parking lot, hit a car and then a gas pump, and set off a ball of fire.

"It happened so quick," Vescio told The Journal News Tuesday in his first public comments since the incident. "It was hard to think. I pretty much just reacted."

The 69-year-old driver had a medical issue and was trapped inside the car.

Vescio had been hurt in the chain-reaction crash when the pump fell on top of him. He scrambled away just as the front of the Toyota and the pump caught fire. After briefly escaping from the flames, he returned to drag the trapped driver to safety with help from another bystander.

Vescio then told people to move away, knowing that there was ammunition and a weapon in his heavily damaged unmarked car. His ammunition was all accounted for and didn't explode from the flames.

Tuesday was Vescio's first day back on the job after being injured in the crash. He said he planned on visiting the driver he saved later in the day. The man, who apparently was suffering from a diabetic episode, remained at Westchester Medical Center in stable condition.

Four other customers were injured in the incident.

Vescio's supervisors have heaped praise on his actions.

"Senior Investigator Vescio's response likely resulted in saving the gentleman's life," State Police Capt. Dominick Chiumento said Tuesday. "If not for his swift response, the situation could have turned much worse."

But Vescio, who is stationed in New York City, kidded when asked if he's being treated like a hero by his colleagues: "They treat me like always – no respect."

Vescio said he has seen video of the crash and the fiery explosion.

"The way I look at it I was doing the right thing," he said.

White Plains Fire Chief Richard Lyman suggested Tuesday that the gas station's fire suppression system, which first alerted emergency responders to the crash, may have partially malfunctioned during the blaze, but said investigators have not yet finished probing the incident.

"I don't have the final report," he said. "I can't comment on that one way or the other."