The name of the victim in yesterday's awful accident on Staten Island—in which a firetruck slammed into a van filled with disabled people—has been released: 51-year-old Eric Perry, who died from injuries sustained in the accident, was a longtime participent in the Special Olympics, competing in bowling and track-and-field events since at least 1993, according to the Advance.
In 2007 Perry was even "pictured carrying the Special Olympics banner at the event's opening parade." A supervisor at the Staten Island Developmental Disability Services Office described him to the paper as "terrific. A wonderful person...very, very bright, very nice and respectful, too. I am so upset by what happened.”
Perry had previously been living in housing for those who needed exra assistance but in the past six months had moved into a home for higher-functioning individuals.
Though the FDNY and the NYPD are still investigating eyewitness reports indicate that the firetruck was speeding through a red light on its way to help a person trapped in a car fire. State law requires emergency vehicles to stop at red lights, even when responding to an emergency [Correction: As our readers point out below the law actually only requires them to slow down, not come to a full stop. We're going to chalk up our misunderstanding to the fact that we still don't have a driver's license.].
