July 25, 2006 -- Doctors amputated the right leg of an elite firefighter who was badly hurt when an out-of-control taxi cab pinned him against a firetruck on the Upper West Side last week, sources said yesterday. John Walters, 37, of Rescue 1, had his legs crushed in last Wednesday's tragic accident, which also injured firefighter buddy Mike Schunk.
A team of doctors at Bellevue Hospital worked nearly 12 hours to stabilize the more seriously injured Walters.
The firefighters, who had stopped to buy dinner, were walking behind their rig, double-parked at 71st Street and Columbus Avenue, at around 10:30 p.m. when they were hit.
Cabby Mohammed Ali Kharmis told cops he was cut off by another car and forced into the lane where the firetruck was parked. Kharmis was not charged.
Schunk was in stable condition at New York Hospital.
