The Latest: Lawyer: EMT killing suspect is mentally ill
NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on a New York City emergency medical technician who was fatally struck by a stolen ambulance (all times local):
6:50 p.m.
A defense lawyer says a man accused of fatally running over an emergency medical technician with a stolen ambulance is severely mentally ill and didn't act deliberately.
Attorney Alice Fontier (FAHN'-tee-ay) spoke after Jose Gonzalez was arraigned Friday on murder and other charges.
Fontier says "whatever may have happened here, none of his actions were intentional."
She calls EMT Yadira Arroyo's death a terrible tragedy but says the truth about Gonzalez and his history will come out in court.
Police said the 25-year-old Gonzalez was high on drugs when he hopped on the back of Arroyo's ambulance Thursday. A court complaint says Gonzalez darted into the driver's seat and ran over Arroyo after a man on the street flagged down the ambulance to say Gonzalez had seized his backpack.
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5:50 p.m.
A man accused of fatally running over a New York City emergency medical technician is being held without bail after being arraigned on murder and other charges.
Jose Gonzalez appeared in court Friday. He said he was innocent as he was walked out of a police precinct earlier Friday.
Police said the 25-year-old Gonzalez was high on drugs when he hopped on the back of EMT Yadira Arroyo's ambulance as she drove it through the Bronx on Thursday. A court complaint says Gonzalez later confronted a man on the street and seized his backpack, and the man then flagged the ambulance down.
The complaint says Arroyo briefly spoke to Gonzalez, who then darted into the driver's seat. According to the complaint, she tried to stop him from driving off, but he ran her over.
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5:10 p.m.
Colleagues of an emergency medical technician run over by her own ambulance are remembering their colleague as a warmhearted professional who did her job with grace.
Forty-four-year-old Yadira Arroyo was killed Thursday after a man riding on the back of the ambulance got inside the truck and struck her. Police arrested Jose Gonzalez on charges of murder and driving while under the influence of drugs. He says he's innocent.
Lt. George Lampon says Arroyo was the "matriarch of the station." He choked up as he said she was like a mother figure to everyone at the station. He says she'll live on in the lives of people she saved.
Another EMT, Anastasia Rabos, says Arroyo was a great friend and colleague and was a very humble person.
Arroyo had five sons.
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5 p.m.
Family members say an emergency medical technician who was run over by her own ambulance after a man took off in it was a devoted mother of five.
Yadira Arroyo was killed Thursday. Her sister-in-law Monica Salazar told the New York Post that Arroyo's children were able to say goodbye. The eldest is 24 and the youngest is 7 and lives in Connecticut with his dad.
She says the children were devastated. But Arroyo's oldest son, Jose, said he would be a rock for them.
Salazar says the 44-year-old victim loved her job.
Arroyo's brother and fellow EMT Joel Rosado says he became a medic to follow in her footsteps.
Jose Gonzalez was arrested on charges of murder and driving while under the influence of drugs. He says he's innocent.
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11:35 a.m.
A man accused of fatally running over a New York City emergency medical technician with her ambulance says he's innocent.
Jose Gonzalez was walked between a throng of angry EMTs early Friday as he was led from a police precinct to criminal court to face charges of murder and operating a vehicle high on drugs. The 25-year-old told reporters he did nothing wrong.
Police say Gonzalez was riding on the back bumper of the ambulance Thursday evening. Police say he jumped into the ambulance and sped off when the EMTs got out, plowing over 44-year-old Yadira Arroyo. They say he also attacked her partner.
Police say he slammed into some parked cars before hitting a snowbank. Video posted on Twitter captured the gruesome scene and showed the partner weeping over her fallen colleague.
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7:15 a.m.
New York City police have arrested a man accused of fatally running over an emergency medical technician with a stolen ambulance.
The NYPD said Friday that 25-year-old Jose Gonzalez of the Bronx faces charges including murder. No immediate information was available on an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
Authorities say 44-year-old Yadira Arroyo had stopped her ambulance in the Bronx around 7 p.m. Thursday after being alerted that a man was riding on the back of the vehicle.
Police say when she got out to investigate, the man jumped into the ambulance, put it in reverse, and struck her before crashing into parked cars.
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2 a.m.
An emergency medical technician and mother of five is dead after she was run over by her own ambulance that had just been stolen.
Police say 44-year-old Yadira Arroyo and another EMT were in the process of responding to a call Thursday night in the Bronx when they were alerted that a man was riding on the back of their ambulance.
Police say they stopped the ambulance and got out to see what was happening. The man, in turn, got into the driver's side. Police say he put the ambulance in reverse, striking Arroyo.
The ambulance then crashed into several parked cars and got stuck on a snowbank. A passing Metropolitan Transportation Authority K-9 officer subdued the man with the help of a bystander.
Arroyo's partner suffered a minor injury.
