TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – The woman who was sleeping in her apartment above a local bar when a tractor-trailer crashed through the building thought she had died. On Saturday, Sara Dempsey met the firefighter who rescued her after the June 20 crash. The original story can be found here.
The tractor-trailer slammed into Junior’s Lounge directly under Ms. Dempsey’s apartment while she was sleeping on a Monday morning. The devastating wreck resulted in her and the remnants of her apartment resting on top of the trailer, covered under debris from the collapsing building.
John Cronk was the first firefighter on the scene. He recently retired from the City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department after 22 years of service. Cronk is an assistant chief with the Pleasant Valley Fire Department and works as a truck driver.
He was operating a construction truck on the day of the wreck and was first on the scene. Without any protective gear except for a pair of gloves, he eventually made his way to the top of the pile after hearing a faint cry for help. “I would never have thought I was going to find any survivors at the scene,” Cronk said. “It was one of the most catastrophic events that I have ever responded to.”
Cronk’s family was hosting his retirement party this past Saturday and with the help of a mutual friend, Dempsey arrived to meet the man that saved her. After an emotional hug and conversation that brought both of them to tears, Dempsey said, “I’m not a crier and I don’t think I’ve stopped crying for an hour.”
The crash survivor, who was still in her bed that was on top of the trailer added, “John’s voice was the first voice I heard when I already thought I was dead. He explained to me what was going on and then worked to get the building off of me and get me to safety. He will forever hold a place in my heart.”
Dempsey lost nearly all of her belongings in the wreckage that forced the building to be leveled. The community has rallied with fundraisers, including a GoFundMe page to help her recover. The page can be found here.
“The community support has been absolutely overwhelming,” Dempsey said. People have been donating clothing, shoes, toiletries, jewelry, and other necessities to help her and her partner Mike try to return to normalcy. “In a world right now where things are crap, there is still good and that is something I have always tried to hold on to.”
