Slain FDNY EMT Yadira Arroyo was honored on Friday by St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, marking the end of EMS Week with a plaque dedication ceremony commemorating her life and sacrifice.
“Yadira was a model EMT, and her memory can be passed down as people walk past this plaque outside our emergency department and think of her,” said Dr. Mark Curato, St. Barnabas Hospital interim EMT director.
Arroyo, 44, of the Bronx, was killed on March 16, 2017, when she was run over by her own ambulance as a man tried to steal it, while she was on duty in Soundview, the Bronx, police said. The 14-year veteran of the FDNY is survived by five children.
The plaque will be displayed permanently in the St. Barnabas Hospital emergency room entrance, the hospital said.
The suspected carjacker, Jose Gonzalez, is accused of getting behind the wheel of Arroyo’s ambulance after she got out to speak with a person who flagged her down on the street, police said. When Arroyo realized the vehicle was being stolen, she sprang into action and struggled with Gonzalez before she was knocked down and run over, police said.
Gonzalez, who has 31 prior arrests, was indicted by a grand jury on charges that include murder, grand larceny and operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, court documents show. He pleaded not guilty in April and is due back in court on Aug. 25.
