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At moments, the FDNY members erupted into heartfelt cheers of “Yadira! Yadira!,” “Yadi! Yadi!” and “We love you, Yadi!” — as well as wild jeers directed at her accused killer, Jose Gonzalez.
Yadira ArroyoAP“He belongs in jail!” the crowd chanted. “Murderer! Murderer!”
A makeshift memorial made up of flowers and candles was erected on the Soundview sidewalk where Arroyo’s ambulance came to a stop before being hijacked on Thursday night.
The mother-of-five was run over twice by Gonzalez after he hopped into the driver seat of her ambulance and attempted to speed off.
Arroyo’s medic helmet, which sat atop an FDNY call box, was also placed at the scene of the vigil on Sunday night. As mourners passed by, they each made the sign of the cross and paid their respects to the 14-year veteran.
Jose GonzalezSeth GottfriedArroyo’s son, Kenneth Robles, 19, left a can of Pepsi — his mom’s favorite drink.
“She always loved Pepsi,” he said. “I was going to put it down when everyone was [done]. I was going to put it down and pray.”
The young man described his mom as a “sweet” person who everbody loved.
“That’s what people will miss most about her,” Robles said.
He recalled finding out about his mom’s death from a relative who heard about it on the news.
“My cousin calls me and says, ‘Kenny, I hope it’s not true.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He says, ‘Your mom, she just got hit by an ambulance.’ But I didn’t think it was anything serious,” Robles said.
“I was obviously crying, but I didn’t know [she was killed],” he added. “I’m gonna be honest, when I heard, I just flipped out. I went crazy, I started going crazy. Twenty minutes later I went to the hospital…[FDNY members] escorted us to her room. I walked in and said, ‘Wow,’ and I just started crying.”
Robles said he wants Gonzalez to be punished to the fullest extent.
“I hope he gets what he deserves,” Robles said. “There’s no price you can put on that, money’s not going to pay for what he’s done. I hope he pays for what he did.”




