Sunday evening, 33-year-old Tempestt Harris-Buckner was driving in Northport, Long Island, when she swerved to avoid an animal in the road and struck a utility pole, catching her car on fire.
A diver 2 cars behind her named Michael Susinno stopped and ran to Tempestt's vehicle. The flames had already shot up the pole and exploded the transformer. "We approached the window which was down and she responded to us, we said we're so sorry, we're gonna have to get you out of the car, the car is on fire. And she shared that she was having difficulty breathing. Her chest hurt. The airbag had hit her in the face. And that her leg was badly broken."
While she was speaking Michael recognized her. "I said 'You don't probably recognize me but my name is Mr. Susinno, I'm one of your former teachers and you played the cello,' and as soon as I said the word cello her eyes looked up and she looked at me. And we were able to comfort her, tell her that she was going to be OK, we asked her not to look at her leg because I didn't want her to go into shock".
Another driver who was an off-duty firefighter and EMT named Michel Pitre applied a tourniquet to her leg to stop the severe bleeding He said the fact that her former teacher was there may have saved her life. "Because he was a soothing assuring voice who could calm her down which slowed her heart rate and prevented more blood loss. Tempestt was transported to a nearby hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.