Philly woman, 78, credits Atlantic City mayor with saving her life in fan crush inside the Linc

His tailgate was the usual lavish spread of steak and seafood skewers, prepared by Atlantic City’s own Chef Sheed, Rasheed Ransome.

But Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. says what happened as the group tried to get to their seats in the end zone inside Lincoln Financial Field nearly derailed an otherwise perfect day.

A few days later, he was getting a cookie tray in his office with a thank-you note from Susan Segal-Bonavitacola, 78, of West Mount Airy, for “saving my life at the Eagles game.”

”Sooooo Sunday at The Eagles Game I did a thing,” the mayor wrote on Instagram. “… as everyone entered the stadium. It was really a dangerous situation that had everyone stuck … I [saw] an older lady and her husband in distress. …”

Small, who played basketball at Stockton University but not football, did his best Jason Kelce blocking and said he told Segal-Bonavitacola and her husband to “hold on tight to me and don’t let go.”

”As we navigated through the crowd, I yelled to the top of the lungs to MOVE out the way I had an older lady with me,” Small wrote. ”It took us like 15 mins to break away but we made it and I made sure she was ok.”

Segal-Bonavitacola said in an interview Thursday that the mayor of the seaside gambling town was “my angel.”

At 5-foot-2, 78 years old, and with a hip replacement, she said the crush of people at the top of the escalator made her fear for her life. She had purchased a parking pass for lots M/N (where the mayor tailgates) and wasn’t expecting it to be a tailgate lot. She has since complained to the Eagles, who told her they are “reviewing the footage.”

Segal-Bonavitacola said she got pushed up against the mayor’s chest, and he then took charge.

Small is 6-foot-5.

“I did just what he said, and he started to barrel through,” she said. “I just held on for dear life. It was incredible. He was wonderful. I’ll remember him the rest of my life. I said, God must have sent you to me.

”I’m telling you, I was so scared, I really thought something really bad was going to happen.”

She said she asked him who he was when they were finally clear of the crush.

”He said, well, ‘I’m the mayor of Atlantic City,’” she said. “I said, You’re my hero. I hugged him and I kissed him, and we both said ‘Go, Birds.’”

» READ MORE: Who has the most epic Eagles tailgate spread? The mayor of Atlantic City.

Segal-Bonavitacola, it turns out, spent a career as an assistant to former Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

She contacted Small’s office a few days later, and on Wednesday, the mayor was greeted with a cookie tray and a note of thanks.

“Dear Mayor Small, thank you for saving my life at the Eagles game. I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t stepped in.”

”Bottom line,” the mayor said. “...always be helpful to people.”