They were joined by two other Port Authority police officers, Antonio Rodrigues and Chris Amoroso. The five officers were located in the concourse just outside the South Tower when at 9:59 A.M. the building collapse initiated. In the ten seconds it took for the collapse to reach ground zero McLoughlin, Pezzulo, and Jimeno were able to find cover in a nearby freight elevator and despite being trapped beneath the rubble, the trio survived the initial collapse. Amoroso and Rodrigues were unable to reach the elevator in time and both men were killed instantly. Of the surviving trio Pezzulo was the only one to avoid serious injury and was able to free himself from the position he was initially trapped in. Working in very cramped conditions he immediately set about trying to free Jimeno who was trapped by the legs nearby. Despite repeated attempts, the large piece of concrete that had pinned Jimeno was too much for Pezzulo to move by himself and at 10:28 A.M. the North Tower collapsed. The collapse of the second tower triggered further settlement of the South Tower debris and Pezzulo became pinned beneath a falling concrete wall. Now mortally wounded, Officer Pezzulo fired a single shot from his Smith & Wesson 5946 9mm service weapon in an attempt to alert any nearby rescuers to the group's position beneath the rubble but died of his injuries shortly thereafter. Pezzulo's last words were: "Willie, don't forget. I died trying to save you guys." On September 9, 2005, all of the public safety officers killed in the attacks were posthumously awarded the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor by President George W. Bush. Legacy In the film World Trade Center by Oliver Stone, Pezzulo was portrayed by Jay Hernandez. At the National 9/11 Memorial, Pezzulo is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-29. See also Will Jimeno Chris Amoroso Dave Karnes Jason Thomas World Trade Center (film) References External links Crimelibrary.com Article PAPD Memorial Site "Dominick A. Pezzulo". Find a Grave. Retrieved October 29, 2011. 1965 births 2001 deaths Italian emigrants to the United States Italian terrorism victims American terrorism victims American police officers killed in the line of duty People from the Province of Caserta Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department Emergency workers killed in the September 11 attacks Terrorism deaths in New York (state) People murdered in New York City Male murder