Darius Fleming Says He Saved A Woman From A Burning Car, Then Played A Playoff Game (UPDATED)

The Patriots linebacker is a real-life superhero.

UPDATE: 5:42 p.m. -- Walpole Police Department Deputy Chief Chris Mackenzie issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon that appears to back up Fleming's story. The police department said they heard back from the woman who was inside the vehicle. This woman reportedly confirmed that someone "who she believed to be a Patriot" did kick her passenger window to help her escape a vehicle.

NECN reporter Kathryn Sotnik said she spoke to witnesses who reportedly saw Fleming, who was wearing shorts and Patriots hoodie, pull a woman out of a car "like a rag doll."


***

UPDATE: 4:42 p.m. -- Differing from earlier reports, TMZ just announced that the local law enforcement agencies it’s been in touch with could not locate “any record of a crash that matched [Darius] Fleming’s account.” This development comes after Fleming relayed his actions, step by step, to the media earlier on Wednesday.

***

Pushing aside concerns over his own safety or thoughts of his team’s upcoming postseason game, New England Patriots linebacker Darius Fleming knew what he had to do when he saw that a nearby car was burning up. He claims to have hurried to the smoking vehicle, smashed in the window and pulled the woman inside to safety, slicing up his own leg on the glass in the process.

This all happened last Thursday -- just two days before his Patriots were set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the hope of clinching a bid to the AFC Championship Game. And even while Fleming ended up needing medical care -- getting 22 stitches to repair the gash on his leg -- he didn’t spread word about the incident, and went on to quietly help New England dismantle Kansas City just about 48 hours later.

In fact, it was Fleming’s high school that first reported the story, posting on Facebook about his heroics.

It's an understatement to say we are proud of New England Patriot Darius Fleming, St. Rita Class of 2008. Darius stepped...

Posted by St. Rita High School on Tuesday, January 19, 2016

His agent later confirmed the tale and, per team defensive captain Devin McCourty, the Patriots gave the linebacker its stamp of approval once they finally heard the news, asking Fleming to describe the scene and praising his instincts and actions once he did.

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,” McCourty explained. “He explained it was very simple: He saw a woman’s car that looked like it was smoking, and he just jumped out of his car. He’ll admit there was probably an easier solution, but I think it was nice and dramatic.”

This 26-year-old actually ran toward a burning car, kicked through glass and risked his own livelihood to save a stranger. And then he didn’t even boast about it. Talk about a superhero.

Also on HuffPost:

Amazing Photos From The 2015 NFL Season

Close

What's Hot