Two men died after their car collided with a tractor trailer truck on the New York State Thruway. 27 year old Moshe Herzog and 26 year old David Z. Schneebalg, two EMTs, were coming back home after spending Rosh Hashanah out of State. As they were driving in the middle lane, near Exit 14B at Airmont Road in Rockland County, Herzog who was driving the car, struck a tractor trailer in the right lane. The accident occurred early Monday morning around 2:00 am. The impact was so intense that both vehicles crossed the right shoulder and plunged into a ditch. The car burst in flames as one of the men was screaming for help. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. They were both members of the Haverstraw Ambulance Corps and the William P. Faist Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Their colleagues heard them screaming for help on the local EMS channel to get them out of their car. They ran to the rescue but it was too late. The truck driver survived. He was pinned in his truck and had to be pulled from the wreckage and transported to the hospital.
Both Herzog and Schneeblag were greatly appreciated for their work for the community. Even though they lived in Ramapo, they would frequently answer radio calls to serve Haverstraw if extra ambulances were needed.
Last year Herzog was honored by the Rockland County Legislature after he went on a 7-hour drive with a colleague to look for a rabbi who drowned in the sea off the Virginia Coast. Herzog was able to bring back the body of the rabbi to the family so they could get closure. He was just a very giving man, always ready to help. He will be dearly missed by the community.
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