woman brain dead after NYC heroics

[bash]

NEW YORK -- A Swampscott woman who was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident in New York City has been declared brain dead.

Erinn Phelan, 22, is being called a hero after she pushed her former college roommate out of the way of a vehicle bearing down on them in Brooklyn, New York. The car sped off after the collision around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Phelan, a volunteer coordinator with the New York City mayor's office, remains on life support at a New York City hospital.

"It's a tragedy to... help a friend out and then get hurt yourself," said Casey Connolly, a Swampscott High School student.

Phelan and her friend, 23-year-old Alma Guerrero, who were both graduates of Brown University, were reportedly in a crosswalk on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn when they were both hit. Phelan sustained the worst of the injuries after shoving Guerrero out of harm’s way.

“I think it’s sad. She did the right thing though. She saved somebody else’s life,” said former Swampscott neighbor Kendra Young.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a native of Medford, Mass., tried to comfort Phelan’s parents when they arrived in New York. Phelan was hired last year to help run Mayor Bloomberg’s new NYC Civic Corps, to put others first.

"This young woman is a fighter. She's got a big heart, and though she's only been living here for a few short months, she's a New Yorker, and everyone in this city is pulling for her to get through this,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

New York’s mayor is asking for help in finding the hit-and-run driver, a young woman who abandoned her car and then took off.

7NEWS contacted Guerrero over the phone, but she was still too shaken up to talk about the accident.

“A lot of their friends are here. They’re coming in and out all day, and everyone’s really pulling for both of them,” said Ross Beckman, a friend of the two women.

Swampcott High School, where Phelan graduated in 2005, released a statement about the incident that read, in part: "She was an outstanding student and compassionate person and she will be missed by all."

(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO136225/

I can't say I would of done the same thing.

[Hologram]

sucks, might as well pull the plug. i know i wouldnt want to be on life support if i was brain dead. hope they find the ***** who ran off though.

[Firefox]

Is there no hope for recovery present or in the future?

[Endless_Echo]

Is there no hope for recovery present or in the future?

dead brain is dead.

Though I remember taking a basketball to the face for a friend... but I don't think I'd take a car...

[Lethal_NFS]

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO136225/

I can't say I would of done the same thing.

My first instinct would be to push anyone near me away. It could have been a stranger and I would have pushed them out of the way. Not even a thought process on that one.

[bayster]

Yeah I can't imagine it would be something you would think about doing it. And chances are if you had to think about it you wouldn't.

[Fon]

As cruel as this may sound, the best they can do for her is to pull the plug and let her rest. Being braid dead is no different then being dead. If I was in her situation, I wouldn't want my body to remain alive while my conscious no longer exists.

[bash]

My first instinct would be to push anyone near me away. It could have been a stranger and I would have pushed them out of the way. Not even a thought process on that one.

Well seeing as you're superman I don't find that surprising.

[Morganator]

I smell a lot of @ss kissing going on in this thread. Bunch of brown nose people.

Anyway, I'd say, give her a few weeks to see if anything changes. If not, pull the plug and take care of the family's needs. I can comfortably say, I'd have done the same thing. It's not something that really takes thinking on my part. It's subconscious and happens on instinct and it happens before you realize there is anything going on.

[Rapture]

Seems like this stuff would only happen in movies. But bravo to the women for saving someones life, only makes it so much more terrible to learn she was punished for it.

[mickice]

I'd rather get injured myself then see someone else get hurt for something I could prevent.

[FdMstng99]

You'd be surprised what you would do in a situation like this. You may actually surprise yourself with your reaction.

I would say that I would have done the same thing but you never know how you would react.

[veedub]

I think I'd have done the same thing - not because I necessarily wanted to but I can imagine it being your first reaction.

[Green Michine]

Damn thats so sad.

[HaTriX]

Honestly, if a car was coming at me and another person, my reaction wouldn't be to push them out of the way. It just wouldn't. I would move out of the way of the car without even thinking about it.

[Firefox]

Honestly, if a car was coming at me and another person, my reaction wouldn't be to push them out of the way. It just wouldn't. I would move out of the way of the car without even thinking about it.

I don't think we can ever tell what we'll do until it happens. (hopefully we won't have to deal with that kind of situation or get hurt in an accident)

[HaTriX]

I don't think we can ever tell what we'll do until it happens. (hopefully we won't have to deal with that kind of situation or get hurt in an accident)

Yea hopefully.

I just mean in the sense of something coming at me, my reaction is to move

[PsychoMantis]

Yea hopefully.

I just mean in the sense of something coming at me, my reaction is to move

In that split second you might not move out of the way. You never know what you would do until you are in that situation. Some people say they will do something like move or whatever but your reactions might be totally different when the adrenaline starts kicking in.