A mother of two who was fatally struck by an ambulance in Brooklyn was a registered nurse who treated patients with severe injuries, according to a close family friend of the victim.
Cherry Cayetano Sobel, 44, was struck by a private ambulance as she crossed Ocean Ave. at Avenue O in Midwood around 6:38 a.m. Thursday, cops said.
“She was a wonderful lady,” said a friend Sobel’s, who asked to remain anonymous out of respect for the victim’s family. “She was a registered nurse with two beautiful kids. She helped rehabilitate people who had serious injuries.”
Medics rushed Sobel, who had suffered severe trauma, to Maimonides Medical Center, where she died.
Sobel was crossing the street when the ambulance driver made a left turn right into her, striking her with the front of the vehicle.
The ambulance continued down the street after striking the victim. It was not immediately clear if the driver was aware the pedestrian had been struck.
Video shows two people rushing out of a motorcoach waiting at the red light and running over to the victim lying crumpled on the street, while a pedestrian also rushes over to her from the curb.
“There’s a lot of distractions when you drive an ambulance,” Sobel’s friend said. “They do serious work — but how could they not stop?”
“I just can’t get over it,” added the friend, a 40-year-old math teacher and former volunteer ambulance driver. “How are they going to tell (her) kids?“
Sobel’s friend said he last saw the victim when he went jogging with her the day before the fatal collision.
“She was talking about traveling abroad if the war (in Iran) continues,” he said. “She wanted to help with the injured refugees.”
Sobel lived in Midwood about a mile from the scene, according to law enforcement sources.
The ambulance that struck her was operated by Maimonides Medical Center, which suspended two emergency responders involved in the crash.
“The Maimonides family is devastated by this tragic loss,” a Maimonides spokesman said in a statement. “Our EMT staff who were involved in the incident have been suspended pending the outcome of the NYPD’s investigation. Our hearts go out to the victim’s family and friends.”
Video obtained by the Daily News shows a line of traffic waiting at the intersection for the light to change. As the light turns green, the ambulance proceeds through the light and makes a left turn, striking the woman as she attempts to cross Ocean Ave.
The roadway on Ocean Ave. was in the process of being repaved where the woman was struck, with the top layer of asphalt being stripped away. No crosswalk was visible there as a result.