‘I Could See His Tibia And His Fibula’: Rep. Van Orden Uses Knife To Help Rescue 11-Year-Old Boy In Roadside Emergency

Republican Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden used a knife to help save an 11-year-old boy in the aftermath of a severe car crash.

Van Orden — a retired U.S. Navy SEAL who represents Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District — was driving with his wife, Sara, along Interstate 35 near Osceola, Iowa, according to a Washington Examiner report.

“I’m watching a Dodge Grand minivan disintegrate,” he told the Examiner. “My wife, Sarah, was like, what happened? I looked at it, I said, someone just died.”

🚨 Rep. Derrick Van Orden recently helped save an 11-year-old boy after a brutal crash — improvising tourniquets with socks to keep him alive. pic.twitter.com/K2ZHuuyn0i

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 19, 2025

Van Orden said he pulled into the grassy median and ran back into the mangled van. On the passenger side, he found an 11-year-old boy critically injured.

“I looked at him, and his calf, which is about as big as my thigh, was completely ripped apart,” the lawmaker said. “So I could see his tibia and his fibula, just a big chunk of him bleeding. And he had an arterial bleed in his right wrist.”

He sprinted to the truck, grabbed a suitcase, and twisted two pairs of socks into makeshift tourniquets for the boy’s arm and leg, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Republican Rep Says Congressmen Aren’t Trump’s ‘Little B*tches’ Amid BBB Fight)

About 10 other drivers pulled over to help, Van Orden said. He asked if anyone had a knife, and when one was handed to him, he cut through the seatbelts to make additional tourniquets.

“Some big old Iowa farm dude — probably in his 60s — rips off a windshield wiper for his arm,” Van Orden recalled. “Then another lady there said she was a medic. She wound up grabbing a piece of metal and made a tourniquet on his leg, and then all of us packed him up and got him up into the ambulance.”

🚨Derrick Van Orden’s quick work saved the life of an 11 year-old.

Thank you to the congressman for stepping up, doing the work, and saving a life!https://t.co/O46PPU6pep

— Wisconsin GOP (@WisGOP) August 19, 2025

Van Orden estimated it took 10 to 15 minutes for first responders to arrive.

“He would’ve been gone,” he said, noting the crash happened in the middle of farmland with no help nearby.

On Monday, he visited the boy in a Des Moines hospital, describing the reunion as emotional and full of gratitude.

“What happened out there is everything that I love about America,” Van Orden said. “We’re in the middle of somewhere, and this happens, and people just start showing up. They start asking, ‘Hey, can we do this? Can we do that?’”

As he tightened the tourniquet on the boy’s leg, he heard someone call out that traffic needed to be stopped. When he looked up, several men were already blocking both lanes to secure the scene.

“It was incredible,” he said, noting how quickly strangers took charge without hesitation.