Pennsylvania

Trio of NYPD Officers Rescues Woman From Crash While Traveling to Memorial for Fallen Ohio K-9

Three NYPD officers rescued a woman in an overturned ambulette while on their way to a memorial for an Ohio police dog that was shot and killed last weekend.

Officers Benny Colecchia, Daniel Rich and Matt Wicelinski were traveling on Interstate 80 in Clarion, Pennsylvania, on Thursday afternoon when they came across the crashed vehicle.

An ambulette had overturned in a snowy crash, trapping a woman in a wheelchair.

The officers used a hammer to break a window. Once inside the ambulette, officer Colecchia used a knife to cut the woman free from her wheelchair, while officers Rich and Wicelinski carried her from the wreckage and administered first aid. They stayed with the woman until emergency crews arrived. 

The officers were headed to Canton, Ohio, with their three K-9 partners — K-9 officers Timoshenko, Dallas and Hudson — to pay respects to a Canton Police Department K-9 officer, Jethro, who died Sunday after allegedly being shot by a suspect Saturday.

Colecchia, Rich and Wicelinski are members of the NYPD’s ESU K-9 unit.

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