Speeding was to blame for the horrific accident that killed a recently engaged former EMS lieutenant and a young Staten Island man, law-enforcement sources said today.
Benjamin Budzaku, 20, was ejected and died instantly after he drove head-on into a private ambulance Monday night.
“He was going really fast, like flying!” said a law-enforcement source.
The posted limit on Hylan Boulevard, near Winchester Avenue, is 35 mph.
Ambulance driver David Restuccio, 58, served 25 years with the EMS and retired in 2006. He was a first responder at Ground Zero.
He died at Staten Island University Hospital.
“Dave was a great teacher and passionate medic. He taught me many things when I first started my career in EMS,” said Lt. Timothy Dluhos, who had worked with him in Staten Island. “He will be greatly missed.”
Restuccio was recently engaged. He’s survived by his fiancée, two sons, and two twin grandsons, according to relatives and neighbors.
“He passed away doing what he loved to do,” said tenant and lifelong friend Mindy Machlin.
Additional reporting by Doug Auer