By Desirée Keegan
Suffolk County Police responded to an incident in which two Good Samaritans helped rescue a Mount Sinai man from a burning car after he crashed in Hauppauge July 19.
Paul Gross suffered an apparent medical incident and crashed into a tree in front on Townline Road at approximately 4:53 p.m. The car started to catch fire, and volunteer fireman Stephen Matteo, who heard the crash from his residence, rushed to the scene. Matteo flagged down a passing motorist, Edmund Quinones, to help pull the unconscious man out of his vehicle.
Matteo and other Good Samaritans provided medical care on the scene and helped revive Gross. Briana Stettner, 19, of Hauppauge, heard the crash and went in the intersection of Townline Road and Hoffman Lane and stopped traffic, so emergency vehicles could get to the scene.
Gross, 53, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital by Smithtown Fire Department with several non-life-threatening injuries. Matteo, 31, of Hauppauge, and Quinones, 57, of Ronkonkoma, did not suffer injuries. The heat was so severe Matteo’s watch burned.
