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New England Patriots linebacker Darius Fleming said he didn’t hesitate when he saw a woman trapped in a smoking car: he kicked out the window, enabling her to escape. But Fleming says he cut his right leg in the process, and he soon began to worry about how coach Bill Belichick would react.
“The first concern was, like, ‘Man, Bill’s going to be pissed about my leg,’” Fleming said in the Patriots locker room on Wednesday after word of his rescue filtered out. “I explained the story to him and he said, ‘That was pretty cool. I’m glad you were able to help her.’”
Fleming, 26, said he was on his way home from practise on Thursday when a truck up ahead slowed down to turn, causing a three-car collision behind it. The former Notre Dame and San Francisco 49er linebacker was behind the third car and pulled over to see if he could help. What he saw was a woman unable to open her doors or windows as her car began to fill with smoke.
“I saw her panic on her face,” Fleming told reporters.
The 6ft 2in, 250lbs Fleming said he needed a few kicks to break the passenger side window, cutting his right leg on the glass as he pulled it back out of the car. The woman climbed out safely.
“My adrenaline was going up and I wasn’t thinking much about it. I was just thinking about whether she was safe,” Fleming said. “Once I got her out of the car, she said ‘Thank you,’ I said ‘You’re welcome,’ and I saw my leg and I got out of there.”
Local police appeared to corroborate Fleming’s version of events on Wednesday. “[The woman involved in the incident] said that ... her vehicle lost power and she could not get out,” said Walpole police in a statement. “At that time a male who she believed to be a Patriot approached the passenger side and indicated to her that he would kick in the passenger side window which he did. She then crawled over to the passenger side and the unknown male assisted her in climbing out of the window.”
Police said there had been no fire at the accident but a released airbag may have given the impression of smoke. “There was no fire involved in this crash however there was air bag deployment, which to the untrained eye can appear as if the vehicle is enveloped in smoke.”
Fleming, a fifth-round draft pick in 2012, needed 22 stitches to close the gash. He played with the injury on Saturday in New England’s 27-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, filling in when starters Jamie Collins and Jerod Mayo were injured. “I was more worried about just getting out there and playing. I’m glad it didn’t affect my play much,” Fleming said. “The worst thing that could happen is that I would tear them [stitches] open and get restitched. It wasn’t like it was a life-threatening injury or anything like that.”
Patriots safety Devin McCourty said on Wednesday that Fleming tried to keep it quiet. “But once the guys on the team got a hold of it, we forced him to give a speech and everything,” McCourty said, calling it “the hero’s speech.”
Roadside heroism is becoming a bit of a playoff tradition for the Patriots. Last year, defensive lineman Vince Wilfork pulled a woman from a car that had flipped on its side after New England won the AFC championship game.
“We’ve got great guys around here, no matter the time — playoffs, regular season — we’re always out in the community trying to save people,” McCourty said with a laugh. Like Wilfork before him, Fleming said he didn’t think he did anything special.
“It represents his character,” linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. “He’s a great person. ... It’s definitely somebody that you want in a situation like that, to kick in windows and taking stitches.”
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