Latest news with #MatthewGoicochea
CBS News
26-07-2025
- CBS News
Bronx family grieving after off-duty FDNY firefighter killed in hit-and-run
A Bronx family is grieving and the New York City Fire Department is in mourning after the tragic death of a hero firefighter. Matthew Goicochea, 31, was killed early Thursday in a hit-and-run on the FDR Drive while he was off-duty. Police said he failed to navigate the roadway, fell off his motorcycle, and was struck and killed by a driver, who did not stay on the scene. No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. "There are not words that I can explain the pain that I'm going through right now," mother Brigida Goicochea said. "I can be a little serious, so whenever he was around, he would always make sure that I wasn't taking everything so seriously, but he also made me braver," sister Stephanie Goicochea said. Matthew Goicochea attended Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, and loved playing soccer, his family said. "I think we're all going to carry on constantly with him as our light source," sister Samantha Goicochea said. "Always with a happy, smiling face. Always, always willing to help," father Robert Goicochea said. "Don't wait for the next person to be careful, you be careful. You think about that person that's on the road, and they're trying to get to their mom or their dad," Brigida Goicochea said. Goicochea had been with FDNY since 2022. "From when he was very young, he wanted to be in the FDNY," Robert Goicochea said. "He would get excited about going into fires so that so that he could help people," Brigida Goicochea said. In 2024, he received a medal for rescuing an unconscious fire victim. The president of the firefighters' union, Andrew Ansbro, released a statement calling Matthew Goicochea "an exceptional firefighter and a trusted member of his company." "He will be deeply missed by his FDNY family and all who knew him, especially the members of Ladder 41, Engine 90 of the Bronx and the Ten House. All New Yorkers share in this loss—we have lost a true hero in the prime of his life," the statement said, in part. "New York City ... has lost a loyal son. A loyal son," Robert Goicochea said. "When we went to the fire houses, you could tell that people were touched by him and touched by the loss," Stephanie Goicochea said.
New York Post
25-07-2025
- New York Post
FDNY hero who saved disabled woman from burning building killed in NYC hit-and-run
A hero city firefighter who once saved a woman in a wheelchair from a burning building was killed Thursday when he crashed his moped on the FDR Drive and was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Matthew Goicochea, 31 – a firefighter for about three years – was riding his 2023 Yamaha cycle north on the FDR approaching East 25th Street in Manhattan when he suddenly lost control and fell off the bike as it dropped to the ground, cops said. Another passing vehicle struck Goicochea as he lay on the pavement, and the motorist drove off without stopping, police said. Hero NYC firefighter Matthew Goicochea, 31, who previously saved a wheelchair-bound woman from a burning building, was killed Thursday when he crashed his moped on the FDR Drive and was struck by a hit-and-run driver. fdny Goicochea was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The driver has not been caught. 'The FDNY mourns the loss of Firefighter Matthew Goicochea, who tragically passed away early Thursday morning,' the department said in a statement. 'Goicochea was riding his motorcycle on the FDR drive when he collided with another vehicle. 'He joined the Department in September of 2022, and was a recipient of the Thomas Wylie Medal in 2024 for rescuing an unconscious victim from a fire in the Bronx,' the FDNY added. That blaze broke out around 1:15 a.m. Aug. 14, 2023, inside a building in the Morris Park section of The Bronx. The FDNY said that despite the 'blinding visibility,' Goicochea encountered the victim 'in a rear bedroom. 'Realizing the victim was entangled in a wheelchair, FF Goicochea worked quickly to begin removing the victim,' the department wrote in its 2024 Medal Day booklet. 'With conditions in the fire apartment rapidly worsening and no hoseline yet in place, FF Goicochea made his move past the now-extending fire while shielding the victim with his body.' The department commended Goicochea for his 'quick and decisive actions [that] led to the rescue' – all while putting himself 'at great personal risk.'
