Yaakov Yosef Rosenberg, 41, became a hero last week when the Coast Guard Auxilary member and EMT chose to crash his plane, rather than make an emergency landing on a field where children were playing soccer.

"I couldn't have lived with myself," a prone Rosenberg explained to Eyewitness News. "When I saw those kids, there was no option."

Rosenberg was flying a Cessna 172 with Erik Pearson, and was heading back to base after surveying the Hudson River, when their small plane suddenly lost power.

They initially planned to land in the river, but then tried to make it to Teterboro Airport before coming down at Regan Field behind the Cresskill Swim Club.

As they neared the field, the two pilots realized the grounds were covered with children playing soccer. In the nightmare situation, Rosenberg says he tried to yell and wave for the children to move out of the plane's path.

In a snap decision, he and Pearson veered to another open field, struck the ground at a hard angle, and were crushed as their plane crumpled against trees along the edge of the field.

Officials have said the decision to change course undoubtedly saved lives.

Pearson and Rosenberg were rushed to the hospital, injured but alive. Rosenberg has since been discharged, though his legs remain in a titanium brace, and he has hundreds of stitches in his head. Although he faces months of recovery, for him, it's all worth it.

"If I would have killed any kids saving myself, I would have said, 'God, please reverse it. Take me instead,'" Rosenberg considered.

"That's Jack," his wife, Miriam Rosenberg, proudly added to Eyewitness News. "I would not have expected any less of him."

Rosenberg has been with the USGS since 2005 and Pearson since 2010. Rosenberg is also a longtime volunteer EMT in New Jersey.

Jewish Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind praised Rosenberg as a hero.

"I have known Jack [Yaakov Yosef] Rosenberg for many years. This is our hero, the new Sully Sullenberger. He has long gone out of his way to help anyone in need," Hikind said at a press conference.

Investigators with the NTSB are continuing to try to to determine the cause of the accident.