The Town of Oyster Bay honored six of its employees on Wednesday for coming to the aid of a police officer involved in a serious car wreck in Massapequa.

Last month, Nassau County Police Officer Joseph Olivieri, 31, was returning to the 7th Precinct station house around 7 a.m. to wrap up his late shift.

Heading south on a wet Carmen's Road, Olivieri lost control of his patrol car, which slid and slammed into a telephone pole, and finally flipped over about 100 yards south of Pittsburgh Avenue.

The officer, only on the force since late 1998, suffered extensive injuries to his left arm, which was pinned underneath the roof of the car.

George Trimigliozzi, a former Massapequa resident and a Town of Oyster Bay sanitation supervisor, was on duty that morning and witnessed the accident. He immediately called his dispatcher, William Wagner, who notified emergency services. The patrol car's engine was smoldering, and Trimigliozzi rushed to the overturned vehicle with the truck's fire extinguisher.

"When I got [to the car] the officer was upside down and his arm was outside and under the roof," said Trimigliozzi. "He wanted me to get him out of there."

Trimigliozzi said he refused to remove the officer from the wreck, fearing he could further the extent of the officer's injuries. Instead, Trimigliozzi tried to lift the car, which was "teeter-tottering" on the curb, so the officer could remove his arm.

"Now take it out," Trimigliozzi yelled to Olivieri. The officer, in extreme pain, was unable to remove his arm.

Bob Dorn and Frank Moles, town sanitation employees, were just four blocks away when they heard Trimigliozzi's call for assistance. They arrived at the scene and helped Trimigliozzi hold the car up to lighten the pressure on the officer's arm.

Two supervisors, Tim McCann and Frank Criscuola, of North Massapequa, were also working in the area, and they rushed to the scene.

"George Trimigliozzi is obviously the key person in all of this," said Criscuola. "He notified us there was an accident, and requested assistance."

Criscuola said emergency services arrived, and the fire department tried to place the patrol car on blocks, for support, in order to rescue the officer. However, the car kept "shifting and bending," making the recovery effort more precarious, said Criscuola.

Finally, the car was stabilized and emergency workers were able to free Olivieri, who was rushed to Nassau County Medical Center. He was listed at that time in critical but stable condition, with a concussion, fractures to the right femur, elbow and left forearm.

The Town of Oyster Bay honored the six men with citations for coming to the aid of the police officer.

"All of the town workers involved deserve to be commended and recognized for their individual and collective acts of heroism," said Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto. "As Town Supervisor, I'm proud of all those involved."

Today, the officer is up and moving, but continues to recover from his injuries, said a department spokesperson.

"Maybe I saved his life, maybe I didn't," said Trimigliozzi, who's reluctant to take the hero role.