Park Workers Who Saved Woman & Children After Being Stabbed By Boyfriend Being Honored At City Hall

“He was following her. I walked toward the door, he turned around and went back inside. He was going to finish her off.”  -  Edwin Medina, City Park Worker

First responders transfer the 24-year-old victim from a Parks Department van to an ambulance on March 24th.  Two park workers are being honored today at City Hall for helping to save a mother of two after she was stabbed by her deranged boyfriend in Port Richmond, Staten Island.   Her 1-year-old son was also slashed during the attack.  The ceremony begins at 1:00. 

(Photos: NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge

Staten Island

By Geoffrey Croft

The two brave Parks Department workers who intervened to help save a woman and her children after she was stabbed several times by her deranged boyfriend are being honored at a ceremony in City Hall today, NYC Park Advocates has learned.   

City Park Workers (CPW’s) Edwin Medina, 60, and Mamadou N’Doye, 37, had just stopped to clean their last park of the day, a Green Street on Innis Street & Nickolas Avenue on March 24th when they heard screams.

City Park Workers (CPW's) Edwin Medina, (l) and Mamadou N’Doye, (r) are being honored today at a ceremony at City Hall for helping to save a woman and her two children who had just been attacked during a horrific domestic dispute.    

“All of the sudden, we heard ‘help, help,’’'  recalled Edwin Medina.

The park workers said they couldn't see where the screams for help were coming from. 

“We heard her before we saw her,” said Mamadou N’Doye.  

They said they soon saw a woman running around the corner carrying two kids, a boy and a girl. Everyone was covered in blood.

“She ran out of the house, almost naked, she had a t-shirt on,” said Medina. “She was running toward us, clutching two small children. She was drenched in blood.  She said, ‘my boyfriend stabbed me, my boyfriend stabbed me.’”

“She ran straight for the van,” said Mamadou N’Doye.  “We grabbed her. She jumped in the front seat.” 

Medina said he started towards the house when he saw the assailant.   

“He was following her,” Medina said. “I walked toward the door, he turned around and went back inside. 

He was going to finish her off.”

The park workers locked the doors of their van and called 911.

Mr. Medina said he took his Parks Department jacket and covered the boy.

"The baby was screaming. I took my coat, and wrapped him up,” he said.

First responders work on the mother inside Parks Department van 7296 for fifteen minutes in order to stabilize her.  The woman's three-year-old daughter is safely in the arms of an adult (r). The van is parked by the Green Street where the two park employees had just arrived to clean, approximately 100 feet away from the apt. the victim shared with her boyfriend. 

“Everything happened so fast. My main concern was the children,” said Medina, a father of two kids, ages 9, and 10.  

“We weren’t going to let him get to the children. We said don’t worry, you are safe," he said.

“She had been stabbed on the top of her head, her neck," said N’Doye. "She’s been stabbed couple times in her chest. She was bleeding really bad. She was in bad shape. She lost a lot of blood. She was in shock,” he said.

“She was breathing really hard, she was shaking,” said Mr. Medina. “The kids were crying hysterical, one of the kids was stabbed in the lip.  We tried to calm them down.  Calm down, the ambulance is on its way,” I said.  

Within minutes police and ambulance arrived. 

EMS worked on her for 15 minutes inside the parks vehicle.

“The van turned into a hospital triage,” Median said. “When she was in the van she had lost a lot of blood. It was a mess, there was blood everywhere,” he said.

“Stay with us, stay with us,” an EMS employee told the woman. 

After stabilizing her in the van EMS then transferred the victim to an ambulance.

The mother and son were transported in stable condition to Richmond University Medical Center.

Some of the blood on the front seat. 

Police told the park workers that the suspect had barricaded himself inside the apt. at 271 Nicholas Ave. 

The assailant also stabbed himself and set the apartment on fire.

Emergency Services Unit broke open the door and arrested, Sallieu Mansaray, 38. 

The Fire Department put out the fire.

Both Edwin Medina and Mamadou N’Doye said that instinct kicked and insisted they weren’t heroes. 

"It was shocking, “ said Mr. Medina. “I just couldn’t believe what happened to her. It could’ve been my sister, my girlfriend, and my neighbor.  Anything could’ve happened.

“The detective said, ‘thank you so much, you saved that woman’s life.’”

“I was so happy,” Medina said.  “We were meant to be there. She would’ve been dead.”

FDNY tend to the fire at 271 Nicholas Avenue that the suspect set to the apt. 

Suspect Sallieu Mansaray lies on a stretcher on the ground surrounded by the police after he was apprehended. 

Police cordoned off the area around Innis Street & Nickolas Avenue on March 24th.

City Park Workers Edwin Medina and Mamadou N’Doye.