Rescued from a fiery crash, Patchogue man reunites with 5 Suffolk police officers who saved him

Kervens Lesperance doesn't remember the night he was rescued by Suffolk police officers after the Jeep he was driving crashed and burst into flames. 

Lesperance, 19, of Patchogue was coming from a friend's house at about 11:20 p.m. Nov. 24, when police said his 2015 Jeep Cherokee sideswiped a 2019 Toyota Highlander driving on Nicolls Road, sending the Jeep into the Division Street overpass in Holtsville.

The crash sheared off the top of the vehicle as it overturned and the engine ignited. He was unconscious as two witnesses tried to help, followed by five Suffolk County officers who ultimately saved him from the burning vehicle.

Wednesday, he was reunited with the officers at Suffolk police headquarters in Yaphank. There, for the first time, he saw police body camera footage of the scene.

"Everyone told me it was bad, but I just had to see it to see how bad it was," Lesperance said, who shook the hands of the officers who saved him.

"They immediately sprang into action, ultimately saving Kervens' life," Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said. "And had they have stopped to think about it rather than jumping into action, I don't know if Kervens would be here today."

After the crash, Suffolk police Officer Craig Capobianco tried to pull Lesperance out of the burning car, but the driver's legs were pinned beneath the steering column, Catalina said. At the same time, Officer Mike Renna used a fire extinguisher to try to douse the burning engine.

Capobianco eventually pulled Lesperance out of the Jeep, but Lesperance fell back on him, and the two fell down an embankment before the others pulled them back.

"The location in which his vehicle had crashed was the worst location for it to be," Capobianco said. "When I pulled him out of the vehicle, I had slipped and I had fallen in between the embankment and that vehicle that was obviously engulfed, at which point in time, Kervens was on top of me, the officers were having a difficult time getting their footing trying to pull him off me, so it was a bit worrisome for that short time being."

Capobianco said he and Officer Robert Rosciano were lucky to be in the area during a traffic stop when they responded to the crash. Officers Robert Stroehlein and Joseph Nofi also responded to try to douse the fire.

Lesperance was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was hospitalized for about a week for treatment of his injuries. He had fractured his skull and bruised a ligament in his neck.

Officers told him his seat belt saved his life and he was given a second chance after surviving the crash.

His friends from Suffolk Community College, who had been with him at a house in Lake Grove before the crash, joined Lesperance Wednesday to meet the officers and view the crash footage.

Jalen Walthour, 18, of Medford, said he had waited in the hospital with Lesperance's mother every day until he was released. He said the crash helped form a tighter bond with Lesperance.

"I already knew what the dangers on the road was," Walthour said. "It's just when that happened to one of my close friends, that's when it hit me. Now I feel like I should be there for him every single day."

Lesperance said he awoke at home, not remembering the hospital, learning of the crash from his mom and thinking at first it was a bad dream.

He vowed to be a more careful driver and was grateful for the officers who rescued him that night.

"I’m really glad they saved me," Lesperance said. "I’m just glad there are officers that would go out and do the very, very best for people like me."