A college football player and his father made a lifesaving play over the weekend when their family drove by a fiery car wreck in upstate New York.
Larry Pickett Jr., a safety for the U.S. Military Academy’s football team, and his father pulled a man out of his car as flames were burning the white sedan, according to video posted to social media by his father. Larry Pickett Sr. credited his son for the save in a post on Instagram, though they both appeared to have carried the man.
“Just after Midnight, I watched in awe as my son, Larry Pickett Jr., ran toward a burning vehicle, ignoring the downed power lines crackling around it,” he wrote on Sunday. “With immense courage, he pulled a man to safety, saving him from a fiery fate.”
The Fort Montgomery Fire Department posted images of the scene to Facebook on Sunday, saying it responded to an accident where a car “struck a utility pole and became fully engulfed in flames.”
The family was driving back to West Point following a family dinner on Saturday night in New York City, according to The Associated Press. They were in town to watch the first Army football game of the season, a loss against Tarleton State.
Video shared by the family shows a car crashed into a tree on the side of a road. A thin wooden pole, possibly the utility pole, appeared to have crushed the top of the car.
The video picked up as the two men pull the man inside the white car out of the driver’s seat. One takes the man’s legs and the other grabs under his arms as they carry the man hurriedly across the street.
“Larry, come on, get him out,” a woman says in the video.
One of the two men then ran into the street trying to stop other cars from passing through the street, warning them of a downed power line.
The driver was conscious later in the video as the men asked him questions. He said he hadn’t had any alcohol or medication prior to the crash. He was also seemingly disoriented, in disbelief that the car that crashed was his vehicle.
“I was driving normally, all of a sudden boom, I’m here,” the driver said, asking the men what happened as an officer approached.
Later in the video, Larry Pickett Jr. says that there was someone on the side of the road when the family stopped but he thinks they didn’t go closer because of the power line. He added that he was just grateful they were able to get him out of the car.
“Cause that coulda gone totally different for him,” he said. “So, just thankful honestly. That could have been really bad for him and his family.”
Larry Pickett Sr. credited the military academy for his son’s act of bravery.
“This is more than a display of leadership; it’s a testament to the character West Point is building in him — a readiness to go into the line of fire, not just for his country, but for anyone who needs it,” he wrote.
The school shared a post to its social media commending its cadet for his quick thinking that night. The academy said it was proud of his “heroic actions.”
“Running towards danger to save lives is the embodiment of the Army Values and Warrior Ethos,” the post said.
Head Coach Jeff Monken wrote in a post on X that his actions embodied “courage, selflessness, and a willingness to put others before themselves.”
“In that critical moment, he didn’t think of himself, only of helping another person in need,” Monken wrote. “We are incredibly proud of Larry for the way he represented his family, our Army Football brotherhood, and the values of West Point.”
