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An NYPD recruit inspired by the police sergeant who saved his sister’s life

An NYPD recruit inspired by the police sergeant who saved his sister’s life

New York Police Department recruit graduating from high school Police Academy Thursday knew he wanted to become a policeman at the age of 9 – ever since he witnessed a policeman save his sister’s life and later become the guardian angel of his entire family.

On March 12, 1998, Xavier Duran was walking across 36th Ave. in Corona, Queens with her mother Ana, brother Luina, and sister Jeannette when the Mistic Iced Tea delivery truck he hit itcrushing his sister’s leg.

A second later, Sgt. NYPD. Lino Minetto and his partner, police officer Lisa Cordero, arrived on the scene, grabbed Jeannette and put her in the back of a police car before the ambulance arrived.

Minetto cradled Jeannette in his arms, keeping the baby awake, asking her how old she was and what her favorite color was, while his partner drove them to Elmhurst Hospital Center, saving the baby’s life.

“I wanted to do what he did for my family,” Duran said of Minetto, whom Jeannette affectionately calls “uncle.”

“I wanted to do this to another family — make a difference, make a difference,” the 35-year-old novice reflected on the heroic rescue of the retired sergeant.

Minetto, who left the department in 2006, will join the Duran family at Madison Square Garden on Thursday when Xavier graduates along with 588 other recruits.

Thursday high school senior will consist of 454 men and 154 women. Of that number, 137 were born in another country, NYPD officials said.

When he joined the NYPD, Duran was asked to write an essay – known as “49” in cop parlance – about why he wanted to be a cop. He said he didn’t have to think twice.

“He basically saved us,” Duran said. “I said I had to do the same for someone else, and I will.”

Minetto and Cordero were just three blocks away when the call came through regarding an accident at 8:30.

“I saw the seriousness of the situation,” Minetto said, “and I decided to just pick her up, throw her on the plastic blanket we had and take her to the hospital because she was bleeding profusely.”

Doctors at Elmhurst Hospital ultimately had to amputate Jeannette’s leg, but she lived and thrived against all odds, Minetto said.

“My report was supposed to indicate that (she) was probably going to die,” Minetto recalled. “This is what we expected. But (then) I saw about a dozen family members in the next room, all praying on their hands and knees. Between the doctors and the power of prayer and the incredible strength of this young lady, that’s what saved her. I just got her there fast enough for it to happen.

Investigators later determined that the cause of the disaster was, among others, strong sunlight temporarily blinded the driver as he turned at the intersection. The driver, who remained at the scene and called 911, was summoned several times but was never criminally charged.

Once Jeannette recovered, Minetto, who also grew up in Corona, was quickly adopted by the Duran family. A few months later, when he received $250 from the New York State Police Surgeon’s Life Saving Award in recognition of his quick rescue, he used it to start a fundraiser for Jeannette’s medical care and education.

“Minetto is a hero, but not one to be easily pleased,” wrote the Daily News at the time. “He doesn’t want praise so much as he wants imitation. He called on New Yorkers to open their wallets and donate the money he donated.”

The humble Minetto remembers how good it was to watch complete strangers walk into the 105th Precinct precinct in Queens and “donate us $50 or any amount for the fund.”

“I just did what anyone would do and what anyone should do,” he said of his fundraising efforts.

Over the years, Minetto came to the Duran home and saw Jeannette, who had been implanted with a prosthetic leg, continuing to grow. She never let her disability stop her as she swam, roller-skated and biked around the neighborhood.

“One time I came to say hello and she was rollerblading,” Minetto recalled. “The next time I saw her, she was sitting in a tree.”

Minetto, whose daughter was about Jeannette’s age at the time of the accident, felt an immediate bond with the child he cradled in his arms during the breakneck race to the hospital.

“During the accident, there was a juxtaposition between my daughter and (Jeannette),” he recalled. “I felt like I was looking at my daughter for a brief moment.”

Jeannette, now 32, remembers Minetto trying to stay awake in the backseat of the police car and being present during her recovery. Minetto attended her elementary school graduation, her 16th birthday party, her high school graduation and her wedding, where husband Andy Payamps, 35, met the family hero for the first time.

“I was nervous on the wedding day, but I was more nervous about meeting him because I wanted his approval,” Payamps said. “Thanks to him, she is here.”

Jeannette credits Minett with saving her. Meanwhile, her close-knit family helped, as she put it, “make me feel like nothing has changed.”

“My life was normal. They made it as normal as possible,” she said of her parents and siblings. “They made me feel like I had no limits. My mother always encouraged me not to tell anyone that I couldn’t do something.”

When Xavier said he planned to attend the Police Academy, neither Jeannette nor the rest of her family was surprised by the news.

“He was always the protector of the family,” she said of her older brother. “He is the one who always takes care of us. I remember we were very young and he said he wanted to become a police officer.

Two weeks ago, Jeannette contacted Minetto and asked him to attend her brother’s graduation ceremony.

“He’s over 30 years old. I asked, ‘What about graduation?'” he recalled. “They said, ‘Police academy.’ I asked, “What?”

“It was a nice surprise,” he said with a smile.

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