He Hardly Ever Frequents This Gas Station — But Surveillance Video Shows Why He's Saying 'Thank God' for the Unplanned Fill-Up

The Lukoil station on the corner of Bay Shore and Commack isn't David Cincotta's typical fill-up spot, but on his way home from work recently he decided to stop at the station just around the block from his house in North Babylon, New York — and things got more atypical from there.

Cincotta, 43, had planned on a quick stop, but when he ventured inside the store to pay for his gas, he saw his dad and the pair began to chat.

“I should’ve been out of there in 10 minutes,” he told Newsday.

As time continued passing a woman came into the store — and seconds later chaos erupted outside.

“I heard kids screaming, “Mommy!” Cincotta told Newsday. “They sounded really, really scared.”

Station surveillance footage shows a white sedan backing steadily away from one of the pumps toward a busy street. Apparently the car had apparently been left running, and one of the three young girls inside placed it in reverse.

Image source: Surveillance video via YouTube

The woman ran from the store and headed toward the vehicle, and Cincotta was right behind her.

Image source: Surveillance video via YouTube

Image source: Surveillance video via YouTube

Video shows the woman opening the driver's side door — then getting knocked to the ground.

Image source: Surveillance video via YouTube

But Cincotta was able to jump into the vehicle and stop it, just feet from the street.

“I put it in park, looked in the back seat and saw three kids,” he told Newsday. “They said they were OK, and there were high-fives all around.”

After checking on her kids, the woman hugged Cincotta, he said. “She was basically crying in my arms,” he added. “She was visibly shaken.”

[sharequote align="center"]“I was just at the right place at the right time, thank God."[/sharequote]

Cincotta noted that the woman got some bruises and scrapes from her fall, but apparently nothing more serious than that — she's seen on camera walking normally after the incident.

But the two didn't exchange information, and Cincotta hasn't seen her since.

“The most important thing is that the kids are safe,” he told Newsday. “I was just at the right place at the right time, thank God.”

The video of the April 5 incident was uploaded to YouTube on April 15 and is just starting to get noticed.