As New England Patriots linebacker Darius Fleming took the field in Saturday’s playoff matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, one of the many things that might have crossed his mind was whether the 22 stitches he had received two days earlier would hold.
A Patriots linebacker says he needed 22 stitches after rescuing a woman from a burning car
He played in the Patriots-Chiefs game two days later.
Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
On Thursday, Fleming had been driving home from practice when he witnessed a three-car collision ahead of him. He pulled over and realized that the driver of one of the cars was in trouble: her car had caught fire, he said, and she was unable to get out of the vehicle.
“She was attempting to kick the window out, but she was a small lady,” Fleming told the Boston Globe. “I didn’t panic, but I was just like, ‘I got to get her out.’ I tried to break [the window] with my elbow, but that didn’t work, so I just started kicking the window. Eventually it broke, pulled her out, made sure she was OK, and I looked at my leg and I noticed it was bleeding pretty bad.”
Fleming suffered two lacerations to his calf. He first went to Patriots trainers and then continued on to the hospital, where he received stitches.
“Darius was really quiet about it, but once the team got a hold of it, the guys on the team, we forced him to give a speech and everything,” defensive captain Devin McCourty told Pro Football Talk.
Fleming’s high school, Chicago’s St. Rita of Cascia, posted a note to Facebook praising the linebacker for his courage.
It’s an understatement to say we are proud of New England Patriot Darius Fleming, St. Rita Class of 2008. Darius stepped up to play a key role at Linebacker in the Patriots’ playoff win over the weekend, but two days earlier made an even bigger impact.
He helped save a woman from a burning vehicle by kicking through her car window to help her escape. In doing so, he suffered a cut to his leg that required 22 stitches to close.
On and off the field, Ritamen like Darius do great things. Keep up the great work, Darius, & thank you for your courage.
As for Fleming’s stitches? They made it through the game intact.
“She did a great job of stitching me up. I thought I’d rip a couple, but she did a good job.”
(via Boston Globe)
