Jets all heart
Team enlists late EMT’s sons for draft duty
THE JETS are drafting the sons of fallen FDNY EMT Yadira Arroyo this weekend.
The five Arroyo siblings will assist the team on Saturday, announcing draft picks from their mother’s Bronx EMS station, according to the NFL.
Arroyo, an EMT with 14 years on the job, was a beloved fixture at the “Tin House,” the nickname for her base, EMS Station 26 in Morrisania.
The 44-year-old mom died March 16 when a deranged man trying to steal her FDNY ambulance ran her down with the vehicle.
“I think that that is a great honor,” Arroyo’s brother, Joel Rosado told the Daily News on Wednesday. “It will be great. Everyone has been so great and so helpful through all of this, so every little thing is appreciated.”
Arroyo’s sons, Jose Montes, 23; Edgar Montes, 22; Kenneth Robles, 19; Justin Robles, 16; and Isaiah Negron, 8, will each receive a Jets jersey and will help announce one of the Jets picks.
Renovations at Station 26 were fast-tracked ahead of the Saturday’s event, FDNY sources said. The NFL draft, which starts Thursday, is being held in Philadelphia. Several teams have announced special guests and locations for the third day of picks. Service members will make picks for the Kansas City Chiefs from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, while General Joseph Votel, Commander of the United States Central Command, will announce selections for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last week, the city’s EMS corps held a small ceremony at the station, honoring the off-duty MTA Police Officer Daniel McDade, who helped apprehend the man suspected of killing Arroyo. A wall-sized memorial to Arroyo, adorned with Puerto Rican flags, Pepsi cans, candles, and flowers sits at the back of the station.