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Good Samaritan that pulled woman from burning car on Sunrise Highway speaks exclusively with News 12

Police say the woman was driving on Sunrise Highway around 11:20 a.m. when another motorist noticed her car was on fire and alerted her.

Julia Rosier

Apr 7, 2026, 5:52 PM

Updated

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A 73‑year‑old woman is alive after a passing driver pulled her from her burning car on Sunrise Highway in Bohemia Tuesday morning, according to police.

Police say the woman was driving on Sunrise Highway around 11:20 a.m. when another motorist noticed her car was on fire and alerted her.

Both drivers pulled over and the man rushed to help her out of the car and away from the fire.

Santino Cirello, 52, of Holbrook, is the good Samaritan. He was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

He spoke exclusively with News 12 about the moment he jumped into action.

“You just react. You see someone in need and you do it. I think that everybody has that in them to do it," says Cirello. “It was unbelievable. And I’m just glad it turned out the way it turned out.”

The cause of the fire is unknown.

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