Patriots Player Saves Woman from Burning Car

An entrapped woman was saved from her car last week thanks to Patriots linebacker Darius Fleming.

Thursday night, Fleming was driving home from Gillette Stadium when saw a multi-vehicle accident near the Foxborough-Walpole town line.

According to the Walpole Police Department, the crash took place after a tractor-trailer attempted to turn right at the intersection of Route 1 and Foxhill Drive. While the first two cars behind the truck slowed down, a third vehicle did not, causing a three-car crash.

Fleming saw a woman in one of the vehicles crawl into the passenger seat, then to the back, before noticing what appeared to be smoke coming out of the car.

“I just thought she was trying to get out of the car then I realized the smoke was building up inside of the car so I was like ‘You know what, I probably should get out of here and try to assist her a little bit,’” Fleming told reporters during Thursday’s player availability session.

According to the Walpole Police Department, there was an airbag deployment, which to the untrained eye can appear as if the vehicle is engulfed in smoke.

Due to the crash, the woman’s vehicle lost power and she was unable to open the door. Fleming attempted to open the door with no success. After trying to smash the door window open with his fist, he started to kick the glass, eventually breaking through.

“I just started kicking it – kicking it with my right leg. It didn’t break right away. I wasn’t sure if it was going to break but on the third kick it broke and that was that,” he said.

After another woman from a nearby building arrived at the scene, he left to receive treatment and 22 stitches for his leg. The linebacker would play against the Chiefs two days later, playing 10 snaps on defense and 16 on special teams.

The victim said she thought Fleming played for the Patriots but the two did not exchange names. Police officers did not attempt to identify Fleming as the good samaritan because it his identitty was not relevant to the investigation.

Safety Devin McCourty said Fleming was quiet about his heroics but had to give a speech to the team once word got out about this actions.

“It represents his character. He’s a great person, and I think anyone in a situation where someone’s life could be in danger, you have to act on it and not just watch. So, I think he acted and did what he had to do. It’s definitely somebody that you want in a situation like that, to kick in windows and taking stitches. Definitely great what he did,” Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich said.

This isn’t the first time a Patriot has helped someone after a crash. After last year’s AFC Championship game, Vince Wilfork assisted police with saving a woman involved in a crash.

Photo Credit: New England Patriots