West Point praised Larry Pickett Jr. on social media for his bravery, saying he embodied the Army’s values.
WASHINGTON — Army football player Larry Pickett Jr. is being praised after he helped rescue a man from a burning car after a crash Sunday.
Pickett is a second-year cadet at the service academy and was returning to West Point Saturday night after dining with his family in New York.
Photos of the crash scene from the Fort Montgomery Fire Department show a fiery single-car crash off the side of the road, surrounded by downed power lines.
When Pickett and his father, Larry Pickett Sr., saw the crash about five miles from the Army’s West Point campus, they rushed into action. Video taken by Pickett’s sister shows the father-son pair pulling a person from the burning wreck and carrying them away from the danger.
“Just after midnight, I watched in awe as my son, Larry Pickett Jr., ran toward a burning vehicle, ignoring the downed power lines crackling around it,” Larry Pickett Sr. wrote on the Facebook post showing the rescue. “With immense courage, he pulled a man to safety, saving him from a fiery fate.”
West Point praised Pickett on social media for his bravery, saying he embodied the Army’s values.
“We’re proud of the heroic actions taken Saturday night by Cadet Larry Pickett Jr, a second-year cadet & @ArmyWP_Football player, & his father who are seen pulling a driver to safety in a video online taken by the family,” the post reads. “Their actions are the embodiment of the @USArmy Values.”
Tom Theodorakis, West Point’s athletics director, said the rescue showed “leadership, courage, and selfless service.”
“Cadet Larry Pickett Jr. and his father exemplify the values we hold dear, stepping up in a moment of crisis to save a life,” he wrote on X. “Proud to see these traits in action, on and off the fields of friendly strife.”
According to ESPN, the rescue came just after Pickett made his college football debut Friday night. He recorded a tackle during Friday’s Black Knights game against Tarleton State.