Quick-thinking cops saved the lives of a man and woman who were trapped in a truck that caught fire after it collided with a garbage truck on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge today, sources said.
Driver Li Zeliang, 44, and passenger Jie Xie, neighbors on 76th Street in Bensonhurst, were in a box truck for the Wah Farm Produce Company that rear-ended the garbage truck after it stopped short to avoid a disabled car at about 6:15 a.m.
The truck became wedged against the bridge in the eastbound lanes on the upper level so that its doors were jammed shut — preventing the pair from escaping intensifying flames.
MTA Bridge and Tunnel Chief James Fortunato, who happened to be crossing the bridge, was the first on the scene and spotted a mechanized winch on the private garbage truck.
I said, ‘Let’s see if I can use that winch to get those people out of there,’ ” he told The Post at the scene.
Fortunato was able to yank the doors off the driver’s side, freeing Zeliang — but Xie remained inside, with her hair on fire.
Officers Jimmy Moy and Johnny Esposito then joined the rescue effort, dousing the woman with fire extinguishers. The critically burned woman was eventually saved and rushed to Staten Island University Hospital.
kconley@nypost.com