A former NFL football player is being hailed as a hero after pulling a driver from a flaming wreck last week, saving his life.
Brandon Bair, who spent time with the Chiefs, Raiders, and Eagles over the course of his three-year NFL career, was driving on a highway in St. Anthony, Idaho, when he saw a train strike a truck. The truck burst into flames. Bair immediately called 911 but sprung into action to rescue the driver himself after hearing a call for help.
“It was a conscious decision that I’m going in because he needs help right now,” Bair told the East Idaho News. “I ran up to the window and saw dripping hot flames all over inside of the truck. I could see a guy in a seatbelt and was able to reach in and get it off of him. He was talking, and I told him we had to get out of here now.”
Bair saved the driver, 25-year-old Steven Jensen, by pulling him through the rear window behind the driver’s seat.
“We walked away, and within seconds, the fire on the roof fell down inside, and the whole seat and cab went up in flames,” Bair said. “A few minutes later, there were a couple big booms and explosions.”
As a “man of faith,” Bair believes “the Lord” wanted Jensen to live.
“All I can say is this guy was supposed to live. I’m a man of faith, and I’ve learned to listen to your gut and the promptings you get,” Bair said. “The Lord wanted him alive. Things could have gone different a million different directions, but things worked out on his behalf. That’s my conclusion. Whether it was me or someone else, he was supposed to live.”
Bair stressed that he is not a hero and that others in his position would have done the same.