NYC Mayor Honors Off-Duty Firefighter Who Rescued Principal from Flooded Car

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday honored off-duty FDNY firefighter Travis Langan for rescuing Brooklyn public school principal Carmen Pinto from her vehicle during the city's first major flash flood of the year. Langan, assigned to Ladder 123 in Crown Heights, was driving home on the Jackie Robinson Parkway when he saw six cars submerged in floodwater.

A bystander directed him to Pinto, whose face was pressed against the sunroof of her Tesla Model 3 as water rose inside.

Langan said he first tried to open the door and lower the windows. When those efforts failed, he used a Yeti cup to break the sunroof glass and pulled Pinto through the opening. Pinto, principal of Thaddeus Stevens Elementary in Bedford-Stuyvesant, said Langan could have continued home to his pregnant wife and daughters but instead stopped to help.

At the MetroTech Center headquarters, Pinto thanked Langan and said she was grateful to be alive to watch the New York Knicks continue in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The next game is scheduled for Saturday. S. Marine veteran and praised the decision that allowed Pinto to return home to her family.