Long Island, New York (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) — John Collymore was trapped inside his burning SUV on Tuesday morning at Northern State Parkway and pleaded for help from a NYC fireman who arrived at the scene unexpectedly. Seeing this, Edward “Eddie” Bohan tried to unlock the door. Bohan was working without any safety equipment and successfully managed to break the window and drag Collymore to safety in the nick of time before the Land Rover was engulfed in flames.
Collymore, 58, is from Oyster Bay. He suffered broken bones and serious burns during the rescue while Bohan struggled with cuts and less serious burns. However, Bianca, Collymore’s daughter, said that without the help of Bohan, her dad would not survived the fire.
The rescue operation took place before 5 AM on Tuesday when Bohan was at the Northern State Parkway near Shelter Rock Road on his way to Long Island to visit a friend. Describing the wreckage of Collymore’s car, Bohan described the scene as he was next to the SUV when it rammed into a light pole smashing a tree. Soon, the car was engulfed in flames. Bohan pulled over as another driver called for help. While Collymore was crying for help, Bohan tried to open the door lock.
However, being without any tools, he took the metal mile indicator from the ground and swung it as a sledgehammer against the window smashing the glass and extracting the victim. Bohan opened the door and dragged Collymore from his seat belt and managed to pull him about 30 feet just before the SUV completely went up in flames.
Collymore was admitted to Nassau University Medical Center on Tuesday where he is still recuperating from burn injuries, a fractured hip and elbow. Bohan was treated at the North Shore –LIJ Hospital for burns and cuts from broken glass.