AUSTIN, Texas — Minnesota Vikings wide receiver KJ Osborn said he was in the “right place at the exact right time” when he and three others helped pull a man out of a burning car following a crash early Monday morning.
Osborn, who was headed home in an Uber, said his driver pulled over as they came upon the crash site, got out and headed toward the car to see if he could help the man, according to KCCO.
Two other people joined Osborn and his driver to help get the man out of the vehicle which was on fire.
“I picked him up, you know, he’s bleeding, his blood is on me. We carry him like 10, 15 yards trying to get away from the car, just in case it blows up,” Osborn said, according to KCCO. “By the end, you know, the fire trucks came and the ambulance and the police and everything like that. And they were just thanking us that we saved this guy’s life. And without us, you know, he could have definitely for sure burned in that car.”
A spokesperson for the Austin Police Department said that the crash happened Monday around 2:30 a.m. and that the car had hit a pole before it burst into flames, according to The Associated Press. The man was out of the car by the time police arrived.
Police did not identify the others who helped in the rescue, but Osborn posted a photo on social media with the other rescuers later Monday.
Right Place Right Time. 💜 pic.twitter.com/Jxcn0qBouC
— KJ Osborn (@KJ_Osborn) March 7, 2023
On Twitter, Osborn said he was in “the right place at the exact right time.”
“Last night, myself and these three absolute (heroes) helped save a man’s life by rescuing him from a vehicle up in flames after a bad crash. A situation I’d never imagine being a part of in a million years,” Osborn wrote.
Osborn also shared photos of the damaged car and the rescuers, according to CBS News.
Osborn in an interview on an ESPN podcast Monday said that the Uber driver saw the crash happen and pulled over, according to the AP. He said he approached the car but felt concerned about an explosion but his Uber driver just went up to the car and opened the door.
Osborn also said on the podcast, according to CNN, that he is in contact with the man he rescued, and that he hopes to visit him in the hospital.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. The driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the AP reported.
Osborn was chosen in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of the University of Miami, according to CNN.
