Monday, May 24, 2010 By Lyda Longa

A few minutes after he turned 44, Port Orange Fire Lt. Joe Carrasquillo thought he was going to die.

Carrasquillo and his crew of firefighter/paramedics responded to a two-car crash at Dunlawton and Ridgewood avenues early Saturday. The call turned out to be a most memorable one for Carrasquillo, an experience he's never had in more than two decades working at the Port Orange Fire Department.

An accident victim threatened him with a handgun, authorities said.

"After 23 years of doing the same thing, I never expected anything like this," the lieutenant said Sunday. "At that moment my kids went through my mind and my wife went through my mind."

Donald Brooks, 62, was slumped over the steering wheel of a Jeep involved in the crash. Carrasquillo went to help Brooks, but instead was met with an angry, armed man who swiftly raised a handgun and tried to point it at the veteran firefighter.

But before that could happen, Carrasquillo dove into the driver's side of Brooks' Jeep and grabbed the muzzle of the .40-caliber Glock.

"He looked at me -- he started to bring the gun up," Carrasquillo said. "I lunged forward. Everything happened so fast. I needed to keep a grip on the muzzle and keep it from being pointed at me.

"Next thing I knew, one of the (police) officers was climbing over me. He Tasered him (Brooks), but he kept fighting. I was finally able to wrestle the gun out of his hands while the officer kept Tasering him."

According to a police report, Brooks had crashed into the rear of a white sedan at the intersection. After Carrasquillo determined that the person in the first car was all right, he approached the driver's side of Brook's Jeep. A woman who had witnessed the crash was standing by Brooks.

Suddenly, the woman began yelling, "Gun! Gun! Gun!" Carrasquillo said.

"You're going to have to kill me ... I'm not going to jail," Brooks reportedly stated.

A policeman headed toward Brooks' car as Carrasquillo wrestled with Brooks over the gun, the report states.

"I observed the tense, rapidly changing situation and I utilized my M26 Taser to stop the threat," Police Officer Theodore Kurtz wrote in his report.

But Brooks wasn't surrendering, even after Kurtz blasted him twice with the Taser. The combative suspect continued struggling with Carrasquillo, saying he was not giving up his gun, the report shows. When Kurtz shot a Taser probe into Brook's' chest though, Carrasquillo was able to grab the gun.

Fire Chief Thomas Weber said Carrasquillo saved the lives of his fire crew -- and Brooks.

"His actions probably prevented the suspect from getting shot and killed by police," Weber said Sunday.

Weber said firefighters are trained to anticipate hostile situations, but are told to back out if police are not present.

Brooks was charged with aggravated assault on a firefighter, improper display of a firearm, using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol, and DUI. He was being held Sunday night at the Volusia County Branch Jail with bail set at $8,250.

As for Carrasquillo, he believes someone was watching out for him on this particular birthday.

"I came up with strength I never knew I had," he said. "It came out good for everyone -- nobody died."

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