Copter first responders share stories

NYPD Lt. Larry Serras knows he shouldn't have jumped into the East River with his heavy boots on while trying to save victims of a helicopter crash.

"I know that now," said Serras, 45, of the risky move that made his lifesaving swim even harder. But he and four other emergency service officers were still able to pull two injured women from the water.

He was one of two first responders who shared their stories after the crash that took one woman's life. Four others were rescued in a tragedy that also drew Port Authority police, New York firefighters, officials from the Office of Emergency Management and the U.S. Coast Guard to the scene.

Serras, a Suffolk County resident, was with his team on a counterterrorism drill by Sixth Avenue when they got the 911 call about a helicopter crashing into the river.

They immediately drove to the scene, shedding guns and tactical equipment in the vehicle. Four of them, including Serras, jumped in -- uniforms and all -- while using flotation devices in the fast-moving river.

"The water was a little rough, the current was swift but surprisingly it wasn't that cold," Serras said.

They saw the downed helicopter and noticed a man they thought was its pilot.

"He was yelling to us that there was an additional person trapped inside the helicopter," said Serras, a 25-year NYPD veteran.

The first responders then noticed two women who appeared to be unconscious and facedown in the murky water.

By then, the helicopter had sunk and, for a moment, Serras thought he was standing on it. A second man in the water also was able to get to shore under his own power, Serras recalled.

"One of the women had like a severe head wound," said Serras, adding that they helped divers lift the women into NYPD boats. Emergency medical technicians worked to revive the two women on shore.

Serras said that all ESU cops are trained for water rescue, although they usually do it with scuba gear. He said the flotation devices made up for his momentary lapse in judgment.

"If I didn't have a flotation device I think things would have been a little different," said Serras, hinting that he might have needed rescue himself.

Meanwhile, firefighter Robert Lopez, 39, of Mamaroneck, jumped into a wet suit and off the bulkhead by the heliport to swim out to a middle-aged man who was about 30 yards from the pier and 20 feet from the helicopter.

Lopez said he was the designated rescuer of a six-person team. He dived in with two life preserver rings and brought the unidentified man to the pier after a tough swim.

"It was a strong current," Lopez told reporters, describing the scene as chaotic. "He was actually floating away from me and it was a bit of a struggle to get him."