Several New York City residents pitched in Thursday to lift a five-ton bus off a dying pregnant woman, saving her unborn baby in the process.

New York City Police Department traffic agent Donnette Sanz, 33, was crossing a Bronx street when a van struck her, knocking her into the path of a 10,000-pound school bus. She was run over and pinned under the bus.

Alert onlookers reportedly rushed to her aid, lifting the bus enough for others to pull Sanz, who was seven months pregnant, to safety.

She was rushed to the hospital with injuries so severe that surgery couldn't save her. But doctors performed an emergency Cesarean section and delivered her son. He weighed 3-pounds, 6-ounces and is in critical condition.

Walter Walker, the 72-year-old driver of the van reportedly told police that his brakes failed and that he had tried to avoid hitting Sanz. Walker was driving on a suspended license and was charged with criminally negligent homicide and driving without a license.