Man charged as run-over medic is mourned as job’s matriarch
NEW YORK — A man accused of crushing a fire department medic to death under the wheels of a stolen ambulance told reporters Friday he’d done nothing wrong, while his lawyer said he was mentally ill and didn’t act intentionally.
As colleagues mourned Fire Department Emergency Medical Services technician Yadira Arroyo at a stationhouse draped in black and purple bunting, Jose Gonzalez was arraigned on murder and other charges in her gruesome death. The mom of five sons worked as medic for 14 years, and colleagues said she was devoted to her job and a mother figure to co-workers as well as her own family.
Gonzalez, 25, hopped on the back of Arroyo’s ambulance Thursday night, then darted into the driver’s seat and ran her over after a man on the street flagged the vehicle down to say Gonzalez had seized his backpack, authorities said.
“I’m innocent. I didn’t do nothing,” Gonzalez said as he was escorted out of a police station, surrounded by angry, uniformed emergency medical technicians hurling insults.