The college football season is now underway for hundreds of programs around the country after an exciting Week 1 over Labor Day weekend.
Fans were treated to highlights and great plays from some of the best players and teams in the nation, but one player may have had the most important move of the weekend – and it had nothing to do with his play on the field.
Early Sunday morning, an Army football player and his father saw a car that crashed into a telephone pole. The cadet and his dad sprang into action, and they were able to make a life-saving intervention before the crashed car exploded into flames.
How Did The Rescue Take Place?
20-year-old Larry Pickett Jr. and his father were returning home from dinner when they saw the car on the side of the road. Pickett’s family was in West Point to watch him play in his first game of the season, Army’s double-overtime loss to Tarleton State on Friday night.
Larry Pickett Sr., the player’s father, told Raleigh’s WTVD that the decision to act was instant.
“There was no discussion. My son just jumped right into action,” Pickett Sr. said, despite live electrical wires around the car and scene of the crash.
“He mentioned his military training kicked in, and we pulled [the man] out. He took care of him on the side of the road until the police officers got there, and then the fire department got there shortly after.”
Pickett’s sister was able to capture the daring rescue on video, and her clip shows her brother and father pulling the man from the car and to safety just before the vehicle burst into flames.
The Fort Montgomery (NY) Fire Department noted that the vehicle was fully engulfed by those flames when they arrived at the scene. The fire department said that is still looking into the cause of the crash as well.
Top Names at Army React To Pickett’s Heroic Act
Since Pickett’s heroism, he’s been supported by several former and current members of the Armed Forces, who say that his actions exemplify what it means to be a soldier.
“We’re proud of the heroic actions taken Saturday night by Cadet Larry Pickett Jr. & his father who are seen pulling a driver to safety in a video online taken by the family,” said the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on social media.
“Their actions are the embodiment of the US Army values.”
“Larry’s heroic actions embody everything we strive to instill in our cadet-athletes — courage, selflessness, and a willingness to put others before themselves,” said Army’s football coach, Jeff Monken.
“In that critical moment, he didn’t think of himself, only of helping another person in need. We are incredibly proud of Larry for the way he represented his family, our Army Football brotherhood, and the values of West Point.”
Army’s athletic director Tom Theodorakis noted that “leadership, courage, and selfless service” were on display through Pickett’s actions.
“Proud to see these traits in action, on and off the fields of friendly strife. Count the brave,” he said.
Pickett contributed on the field in Army’s first game, but it’s the work he’s done outside of the box score that’s earned him recognition this week.
