Army Football Hero Rescues Driver Moments Before Car Erupts in Flames [WATCH]

An Army football player is being credited with saving a man’s life after pulling him from a burning vehicle following a crash in upstate New York.

Larry Pickett Jr., a sophomore safety for the Army Black Knights, was traveling on Route 9W in Fort Montgomery early Sunday when he came upon the scene of a serious accident.

According to WTVD, the 20-year-old cadet saw a car crash into a utility pole, which sparked power lines and set the vehicle on fire.

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Pickett was returning from dinner in New York City with his family when they noticed the wreck. Without hesitation, he ran toward the burning vehicle.

“There was no discussion. My son just jumped right into action,” his father, Larry Pickett Sr., told the outlet.

Video recorded by Pickett Sr. and posted on Facebook shows the Army player rushing to the vehicle and pulling the driver from the front seat.

Moments after the man was moved to safety, the car became fully engulfed in flames.

#ArmyFootball player Larry Pickett saved a man from a burning vehicle in Fort Montgomery last night pic.twitter.com/XRyskXjCSW

— Black Knight Nation (@BKKnightNation) August 31, 2025

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Army football player Larry Pickett reacts to pulling a man out from a burning vehicle Saturday in Fort Montgomery #ArmyFootball pic.twitter.com/SQxPIhIVPg

— Black Knight Nation (@BKKnightNation) August 31, 2025

“Thank you Jesus that this man will live to see another day! I am so grateful for my son LJ for saving his life!” Pickett Sr. wrote in the post.

He added that his son’s training at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point gave him the courage to act.

“This is more than a display of leadership; it’s a testament to the character West Point is building in him—a readiness to go into the line of fire, not just for his country, but for anyone who needs it.”

The Fort Montgomery Fire Department confirmed that firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the blaze. Pickett Sr. said he did not know the driver’s exact condition but believed his injuries were not serious.

West Point publicly recognized the cadet’s actions, posting on Facebook that Pickett’s decision to run toward danger represented “the embodiment of the Army Values and Warrior Ethos.”

Speaking with WRAL, Pickett Sr. said his son’s instinct to help others was evident even before he entered West Point.

“I remember right before we brought him to West Point, he actually chased down somebody that was shoplifting from a store in Raleigh,” he said.

“It was like, ‘LJ, that’s dangerous. Like, you don’t know what he could have had on him.’ It’s just his instinct to be there and to help people, and obviously his training at West Point.”

Pickett Jr. is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and was a standout two-way football player for Enloe High School before joining the Army football program.

His West Point biography lists him as a 6’1”, 195-pound safety.

He is also the nephew of former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor, who won two Super Bowls and played 12 seasons in the NFL.

Off the field, Pickett Jr. has been active in community service, including volunteering as a youth ambassador at Raleigh’s Marbles Kids Museum and participating in family mission trips to Mexico to help build homes for families in need.

Pickett made his Army football debut Friday in a double-overtime game against Tarleton State.

While the Black Knights fell short in that contest, his actions off the field just days later drew widespread recognition from both West Point officials and the public.

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