A National Football League player found himself being in what he is calling the right place at the right time to provide help to a person in need. Here’s the incredible story of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver K.J. Osborn.
What Happened: Osborn has been in the right place at the right time in many games for the Vikings during the 2022 National Football League season.
He caught 60 passes for 650 yards and five touchdowns on the season, helping the Vikings advance to the NFL Playoffs.
Earlier this week, it wasn’t a pass from Kirk Cousins that Osborn was chasing down to catch. Instead of a ball, it was a vehicle on fire that needed Osborn to step in and make a play on.
“Most of the time the saying goes, ‘wrong place, wrong time.’ But this time I believe God had me, us, at the right place at the exact right time,” Osborn tweeted.
Osborn, his Uber driver, and two other people helped save a man’s life by pulling him from a vehicle on fire, the result of a bad crash.
The Vikings receiver was traveling in an Uber after a workout in Austin, Texas, he told Adam Schefter while appearing on “The Adam Schefter Podcast," as reported by the New York Post.
“My Uber driver just starts going crazy. He’s like, ‘Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!’ I Look up, and I’m wondering what’s all the fuss about,” Osborn told Schefter. “He’s like, ‘This guy crashed,’ and I look to my right and there’s a car, if you were to picture it, under a bridge’s pillars. His car is head-on. He hit the pillar and his car is in flames.”
Osborn, the Uber driver, and two other unidentified bystanders jumped into action.
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Why It’s Important: The Vikings receiver called the incident “a situation I’d never imagine being a part of in a million years.”
Osborn said his Uber driver’s instinct was to call 911 for help. The Vikings receiver said he knew time was valuable and wanted to take immediate action.
“I’m like, ‘No, we got to go save this guy,’” Osborn told his driver.
Osborn said his Uber driver rushed over to the burning vehicle, with the Vikings receiver and two other bystanders following behind. The Vikings receiver notes that the Uber driver put his own safety aside and was able to open the door to the burning vehicle.
The four people were able to pull the man from the vehicle and take him to safety.
Osborn told Schefter, the fire was put out by emergency personnel and the injured man was transported to the hospital in an ambulance. Osborn recalls the man bleeding and being “out of it.”
“The police officers got all our info and everything, and they came back and told us, 'You saved that man’s life.'”
Osborn told Schefter he was going to visit the unidentified man in the hospital, who had only minor injuries.
The Vikings receiver, who attended the University of Buffalo and the University of Miami before entering the NFL, is currently working on his master’s degree in criminal justice at the University of Miami.
Osborn hopes to join the FBI or Secret Service after a career in the NFL.
The NFL player told Schefter that it’s the “greatest blessing” that the man in the car is still alive.
As a wide receiver, Osborn has to make many split second decisions to get to a point on the field or time his jump right to give him a chance to catch the ball. In the case of the car accident, Osborn knew that there might not be time to wait for emergency assistance and made a split second decision.
While working as a driver for Uber Technologies UBER, the unidentified driver gets paid based on how many rides he makes and how many miles he drives. The driver sacrificed time and potential earnings to jump into action and save the man’s life. He also potentially risked his own life and safety in doing so.
In a world where athletes are judged under a microscope for all the negative things they post on social media or actions they take, Osborn’s off-season life-saving rescue will be a story not soon forget.
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Photo: ClemsonTigerNet on flickr
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