When Minnesota Vikings wide receiver KJ Osborne got into his Uber in Austin, Texas on Sunday night, he never thought he’d be going home to a hero.
Osborne revealed on ESPN “The Adam Schefter Podcast” That he helped save a man from a burning car while riding home from a night out with friends on Sunday.
Osborne was in training in Austin, and as his time was winding down, he wanted to spend a night with De’Andre Swift and others before heading back with his trainer, the Detroit Lions. But that fun night quickly turns into a dramatic scene when his Uber driver witnesses a car accident that prompts the two of them to spring into action to help the driver out of the burning vehicle.
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KJ Osborne #17 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before the start of the game against the New York Giants at US Bank Stadium on December 24, 2022 in Minnesota, Minnesota. The Vikings beat the Giants 27-24. (David Birding/Getty Images)
“This is a situation I never in a billion years would have imagined,” Osborne began telling Schefter. “But I’m going home, I’m in the back of an Uber, and my head is down and I’m on my phone, on the way home. My Uber driver just starts freaking out. He’s like , ‘Oh God, Oh God!’ I look up, and I wonder what all the commotion is and there’s nobody on the road. He’s like, ‘This guy crashed’, and I look to my right and there’s a car. is, if you could picture it, on the bridge piers. His car is on its head. He’s hit the pillar and his car is on fire.”
“Initially, my Uber driver, who’s also a hero — there were three other people there. All heroes. He got out of the car, and he’s like, ‘We need to call 911, talk to 911. should.’ I’m like, ‘No, we have to go save this guy.’
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Osborn said to himself, his Uber driver And another man and woman were on the scene to help them out of the car. Of course, Osborne was a bit reserved at first because it was a burning car – at any moment, it could explode.
But instinct kicked in and everyone there started talking to the man, trying to get him into the passenger seat so they could pull him out.
Once he was outside, Osborne picked up the man and they all walked away from the burning car.
KJ Osborne #17 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before the game against the New York Giants at US Bank Stadium on December 24, 2022 in Minnesota, Minnesota. (Stephen Ripness/Getty Images)
“We got him out of the car and when I picked him up, and he was bleeding through my shirt and everything. I picked him up and carried him about 10, 15 yards away because that’s how we got away from the car a little bit. By then the ambulance arrived. The firemen got the flames down. The car was fine. The police officers got his information and everything, and they came back and told us, ‘You saved that man’s life.’ C.’
Osborne is currently attending the University of Miami to get his master’s degree in criminal justice as he said he plans to be a part of the FBI or Secret Service after his playing days. This position was one that he saw as something that could be part of that job description down the road if he ever pursued it fully, which gave him a lot of perspective.
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“I didn’t think it would affect me too much. I thought I’d be able to sleep and be fine, but I couldn’t.”
Osborne has since stayed in touch with the man he saved as well as with people who helped the cause. He plans to go to the hospital for a checkup, saying he has an ankle injury and is bleeding from his lip.
The injuries are very minor considering the circumstances.
KJ Osborne #17 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before a game against the New York Giants in the NFC wild card playoff game at US Bank Stadium on January 15, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Birding/Getty Images)
Osbourne is still trying to process what happened Sunday night, including the fact that he missed his first Uber before getting into one that landed him in this situation. He does not believe that man is alive if he and others are not there.
“I’m just thankful that I was in a position to be able to help him as well as the three other heroes that were out there.”
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“I was in the right place at the right time.”
