The firefighter who was viciously beaten while defending his girlfriend from taunting thugs was in critical but stable condition yesterday after 10 hours of surgery.
Matthew Dugan, 34, was attacked in the Staten Island Ferry terminal in lower Manhattan by two men and a woman who jeered at his girlfriend after she tripped and then turned on him.
Doctors at New York Downtown Hospital performed a craniotomy to relieve pressure on his brain. They need to let the swelling recede to determine if he suffered any permanent brain damage.