Taxi driver witnesses accident, performs CPR

Sean Creeden, 51, a Lynbrook resident and taxi driver for Village Car Service, was on his way home from John F. Kennedy Airport on Jan. 19 when he saw a three-car collision. He stopped to help one of the drivers.

“I knew something was very wrong because wasn’t responding to any verbal stimuli,” he said.

According to police, David Jensen, 36, of East Northport, was travelling west on Sunrise Highway in a 2003 Nissan Altima when he lost control of his vehicle, crossing a grass median and striking a 2008 Hyundai Elantra heading east, driven by a 55-year-old woman. In turn, the collision caused the Hyundai Elantra to strike a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder also travelling east, driven by a 55-year-old woman. Both women were taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Creeden called 911 and told the operator that Jensen was breathing lightly and had a faint pulse. Creeden, who is trained in CPR and worked as a respiratory therapist for more than 27 years, said that Jensen’s pulse stopped, at which point he began performing CPR until paramedics arrived. The women involved in the crash got out of their cars and seemed OK, Creeden said, but frustrated drivers who didn’t see the crash were honking at the traffic buildup.

“Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath when there’s traffic and put a lid on it,” he said.

David O’Neill, operations manager of Village Car Service, said that nothing like this has ever happened with one of his drivers before. “I don’t know CPR so I don’t even know if I would’ve known what to do,” he said, adding that he believed Creeden’s efforts helped Jensen at least make it to the hospital. “He probably wouldn’t have even made it that long if Sean wasn’t there.”

O’Neill didn’t learn of the crash until around 4 p.m., from neighboring office workers discussing extreme traffic on Sunrise Highway, by which time Creeden, who works part-time for Village Car Service, had nearly finished his shift. “He worked until like 5 o’clock that night,” O’Neill said. “That’s how he is.”

Police shut down the eastbound lanes from Hook Creek Road in Rosedale to Green Acres Road in Valley Stream for more than four hours. The cause of the crash is still unknown.

“Sean said he saw the accident and reacted,” O’Neill said. “Cab drivers get a bad wrap — they help a lot of people out, and they also help out law enforcement.”

Creeden said he anxiously checked news outlets the day of the crash to find updates about the man’s condition. “My prayers and wishes go out to everybody involved in this accident,” he said.

Jensen died of his injuries the following day at Northwell Hospital in Manhasset.